Busted
by firecrackerbabe11
Summary: Everything is going perfectly for them until the death of Kurt's mom causes Mr. Anderson to be protective of his family.  Kurt and Blaine not only to need to prove that their love for each other is stronger than those who try to tear them apart.
1. Prologue

On hot summer days Blaine and his mommy would walk to the coffee shop down the street together. His mommy would order different things depending on her mood but Blaine always got the same thing: a strawberry smoothie with lots of whipped cream on top. When it wasn't too hot they would walk to the park and sit on the bench until Blaine finished his drink and began running around on the play equipment. On other days they would sit in the coffee shop and color together. Today was no exception to their summer plans.

Blaine grasped his mommy's hand while they walked through the scorching parking lot and into the coffee shop. Today was a coloring day.

Now that Blaine was seven years old he was finally able to see over the counter so while his mom told the lady their order Blaine watched with wide eyes as all of the coffee makers ran around with silver cups and milk laughing with each other until his mom pulled him to the side to wait for their drinks. After her drink came out she went to sit down while Blaine waited for his.

While watching over the counter he saw a man put the ice and strawberries into the blender and pushed the start button causing the contents of the blender to change to a light pink color.

Blaine bounced anxiously on his toes as the tall man emptied the blender into two cups and loaded the dome lid with whipped cream. Before he could even call out the names on the cups, Blaine was reaching up onto the counter to grab his when another little hand went reaching for the same smoothie.

Both boys retracted their hands looking over to the stranger who was trying to steal their drink. Blaine saw a boy who was just a little taller than him with bright blue eyes and a bow tie staring at him.

The other boy looked down at his shoes scuffing the bottom on the floor while twisting his fingers together shyly.

"Sorry." Blaine could barely hear his voice, which was a little higher than he expected.

"That's okay!" Blaine reached up onto the counter and grabbed both smoothies. "Here you go. My name is Blaine." He happily held out the second smoothie for the other boy to take. He didn't reach for it right away, but after a moment of evaluating he finally grabbed it.

"I'm Kurt." His voice was a little louder this time.

"I'm here with my mommy. We come here durin' the summer. Are you here with your mommy too?"

"Ya." Kurt's eyes got a little brighter as he reached his hand out pointing to a woman sitting down at one of the tables. "That's her, right there."

"That's my mommy." Blaine pointed to his mom at the table next to Kurt's. They both took a small sip from their smoothies and Blaine looked down at his cup realizing that it had Kurt's name on it. "Hey, look! I guess I'm Kurt today! Which means you're Blaine."

The young boys started giggling at the mix up of cups and walked back to their moms. Blaine ran ahead of Kurt and sat down at the table with Kurt's mom.

"Hi, Mommy! It's me, Kurt!" Blaine pointed at the name on the smoothie cup giving her a toothless grin.

Kurt was much shyer than Blaine, but he still willingly sat down with Blaine's mom smiling. The two mothers looked at each other with bright smiles on their faces before Blaine's mom turned back to Kurt.

"Well, Blaine, you sure have grown since we ordered the coffee."

It was then that Kurt lost control of and began laughing uncontrollably but Blaine didn't find that joke to be so funny. He crossed his arms and pouted out his lip.

"Aw, Kurt," Kurt's mom laid her hand on Blaine's shoulder, "Don't worry, we are going out for ice cream later, remember? Maybe that will make you feel better."

"But Mommy!" Kurt chimed in from Blaine's table, "We were going to go get ice cream later." His eyes went wide with panic.

Both moms began laughing with each other before looking back to their sons.

"Well, maybe if you ask nicely we can all go get ice cream together?"

Both boys looked directly at Blaine's mom excitedly willing her to say yes.

"Well, I don't see why not."

Blaine jumped out of his chair and stepped over to Kurt pulling him out of his chair and into a tight hug.

"You're my new best friend!"

Kurt smiled shyly and Blaine grabbed his hand and pulled him over to their table.

"Wanna color with me?"

Kurt nodded as his eyes lit up. Their moms turned and looked at each other with a knowing look; this was not going to be the end of their friendship.

"I'm Tracy Anderson."

"Elizabeth Hummel."

"So, Elizabeth, I have a feeling I will be getting to know you pretty well."


	2. Chapter 1

Three weeks later Tracy and Liz found themselves chatting on a park bench while Kurt and Blaine played house in the sandbox.

"So, what are your plans for the Fourth of July?"

"Oh, I don't know." Tracy looked over to Blaine and Kurt, "Cooper is going to spend the night at a friend's house and Tom usually has an office party but we decided not to go this year."

"Why don't you all come join us at our house?" Liz reached over and patted Tracy's knee excitedly. "The boys can play together and we can have a grill out. It will be really fun."

"That sounds fantastic. Count us in."

Liz smiled sweetly at Tracy before turning back to the boys. Kurt and Blaine weren't the only ones who had gotten a new friendship out of their trips to the coffee shops. Ever since they met Tracy and Liz would take weekend trips to the mall or spend their nights on the phone exchanging gardening tips like they were two best friends back in high school.

Suddenly Kurt and Blaine come running over to Tracy and Liz. Tracy looked down at her son's knee and noticed that there is a large scratch there.

"Oh Blaine, darling, are you okay?"

"Ya, Mommy, I'm fine."

"Do you want me to kiss it better?"

"No thanks, Kurt already kissed it. It feels much better now."

Blaine reached over and grabbed Kurt's hand. The two boys stood before their moms with intertwined fingers showing off their toothless smiles.

Tracy and Liz shared a quick glace before they smiled with each other.

The following Friday was the Fourth of July. Blaine was running up and down the stairs double checking that he has everything for Kurt's house because he was going to spend the night for the first time.

While they are leaving the house Blaine put on his backpack and tucked his teddy bear under his arm before climbing into the back of the van.

"Now, Blaine, you know if you need anything at all tonight you can call us, right?"

"Yes, Mommy. But don't worry, Kurt said that I can hold his hand if I get scared."

"That's very sweet of him, isn't it?"

"Yes. Kurt's my best friend." Blaine smiled and turned to look out the window.

Before Tracy and Tom stepped up to the door at the Hummel house Blaine was already reaching on this tip toes to hit the doorbell. It rang and within five seconds Kurt was answering the door.

"Blaine!" Kurt pulled Blaine up into the house and into a hug. "Come on! We can play in my back yard!" Kurt grabbed Blaine's hand and pulled him through the house out the back door.

Tracy and Tom stepped through the front door and greeted Liz and Burt and brought the brownies they had made into the kitchen.

"Can you imagine if our sons hadn't met at the coffee shop?" Tracy wrapped her arm around Tom's waist proudly.

"I'm glad that they found each other. I think Kurt really needed a friend." For a moment Tom caught a frown cross Burt's face as he spoke but it was quickly replaced with a smile.

"I know." Tom reached over and patted Burt's shoulder, "They're really are lucky."

All of the adults shared a quick smile before they each busied themselves with filling their plates with food and leaving to gather on the back patio.

Burt, Liz, Tracy, and Tom all sat around laughing and enjoying the fireworks going on around them while Kurt and Blaine were sitting in the grass under one of Liz's side bushes.

"Kurt, can I ask you somethin'?"

"Of course, I'm your best friend, you can ask me anything."

"Well, it's just, do you think it's weird that we hold hands so much?" Blaine watched as Kurt's eyes grew with sadness before he quickly continued, "I like holdin' your hand, Kurt. But yesterday Cooper was teasin' me about how I like holdin' your hand and he never holds hands with his best friend and he told me it was weird."

"But, I don't want to stop holding your hand, Blaine. I like how I feel when I hold your hand." As if he had to prove his point Kurt squeezed Blaine's hand and looked up shyly through his eyelashes.

"Really? Good." Blaine sighed in relief, "Cause I like holdin' your hand, too. I just wanted to make sure you didn't think I was weird or nothin'."

"I don't think you're weird." Kurt let out a little giggle, "Besides, your brother holds hands with his girlfriend, doesn't he?"

"Oh ya, he does!"

"So, you don't have a girlfriend to hold hands with, and neither do I. So it's okay that we hold hands."

"So, if I never get a girlfriend and you never get a girlfriend, does that mean I can always hold your hand?" Blaine looked down at his shoe while he finished the question.

"Of course! Besides, I don't want a girlfriend. I like having you as a best friend instead." Blaine looked up and met Kurt's hopeful eyes.

"Yea, me too."

Kurt and Blaine lay down next to each other in the grass with their fingers still intertwined.

"Kurt! Blaine! We are going to start lighting fireworks!"

The two boys got up and sprinted over to their waiting parents.

Both of their dads decided that this year they were old enough to help light the fireworks. Burt took Kurt's hand in his to help him guide the hot punk to the wick.

"Okay, now once it starts sparking you gotta run, okay?"

"Don't leave me, Daddy."

"I'll be right here."

Together Burt and Kurt leaned down over the waiting firework and slowly worked their hands towards the wick. Once it started sparking Burt grabbed Kurt and ran them back to the others before putting him down and facing him towards the fireworks again keeping his strong hands on Kurt's shoulders.

"Watch this, buddy."

Kurt looked up in the sky and watched as the fireworks went off. He looked back down at the small cardboard box that was setting on the ground and he couldn't help but wonder how something so beautiful could come from something so small.

In that moment Kurt learned two things: 1) Don't judge something based on looks alone and 2) good things come in small packages.

"Kurt, look what you just did!" Blaine ran up to Kurt pointing to the sky, "It's so pretty."

"I know!"

They smiled at each other and looked back up at the show which quickly came to an end.

"You're turn, Blaine" Tom walked up to Blaine with a punk and firework in hand. Blaine hooked tightly to his side and put his hand under his daddy's just like Kurt had.

Kurt thought that the fireworks that Blaine got to help make were even more beautiful than the ones he made. Kurt spent the next half hour in his own little world imagining all the great things that are out there for him just like fireworks.

At nine o'clock the parents sent Kurt and Blaine up to Kurt's room to go to bed. After they said goodnight Kurt and Blaine crawled into Kurt's bed together and all the parents went back downstairs to continue their night.

"Blaine, can I ask you a question?"

"Sure." Blaine turned on his side to face Kurt who mirrored his actions.

"You know how your brother has a girlfriend, right?"

"Ya…"

"And you have a mommy and a daddy and I have a mommy and a daddy?"

"Mhm…"

"Well, have you ever thought about if someone had two mommies or two daddies, or if your brother had a boyfriend and not a girlfriend?"

Blaine was silent for a long time and Kurt started to get nervous that he had chased his new friend away already.

"I've never thought about it. But, can you do that? I mean, everybody needs a mommy and a daddy, right?"

"Ya, I guess you're right." Kurt rolled onto his back and looked up at the ceiling. "It's just that, sometimes I wonder why it's like that, like how come there aren't any stories about a prince and a prince? Cause you and I are best friends, and we do everything together, but my mommy never tells me stories where there is two boys."

"Hmm." Blaine pursed his lips while he thought about what Kurt had said. He thought for a long time. Right as he was about to answer Kurt he looked down to find him asleep.

Blaine rolled over onto his back and pulled the covers up to his chin. He hated being the last one asleep. When he is at home and Cooper falls asleep before Blaine he crawls into bed with him, or he walks down the hall to his parent's room. There is just something creepy about being the last one awake in a big house, especially now that he was in someone else's house.

Finally he rolls over to face Kurt again.

"Kurt," he tried whispering his name, "Kurt? Kurt." Finally he reached over to shake Kurt's shoulder. Kurt's eyes fluttered open and he turned to face Blaine.

"Are you okay?"

"Kurt, I'm… thirsty." Blaine lied. He didn't want Kurt to think that he was a coward.

"Oh." Kurt looked around for a moment. "Want me to get you some water?"

"Can I come with you?"

"Sure. Come on."

The boys tiptoed out of Kurt's room and down the stairs. Their parents were still out on the back patio talking when they reached the kitchen.

Kurt walked over to the counter and gripped the edge before he pulled himself onto the top. He opened the cupboard carefully pulling down two small plastic cups.

"These are my special cups. You can use one tonight if you want to."

"Really? Thanks." Blaine's eyes grew as he looked closer at the cool designs on the side of his cup.

Kurt walked over to the sink and pulled a step stool onto the mat on the floor climbing up the two small steps to fill the cups in the sink.

They sat in the kitchen drinking their water before Liz came in from outside and spotted the young boys in the kitchen.

"Aren't you supposed to be in bed?"

"We got thirsty," Kurt explained as he finished his water and put his and Blaine's cup in the sink and grabbed Blaine's hand. "We're going back to bed now. Love you, Mommy."

Kurt pulled Blaine along behind him up the stairs as Liz gave them both a small kiss on their hair as they passed.

Back up in Kurt's room Kurt crawled under the covers and next to Blaine. Right as Kurt was about to let sleep take him over again Blaine spoke up.

"Kurt, I…. I'm scared." Kurt sat up and rested on his elbow looking at Blaine.

"What are you scared of?"

"I don't know I'm just scared."

"Well, when I'm scared I go into my parent's room and cuddle with my mommy."

"Me too. But now I'm at your house and my mommy's room isn't down the hall."

"Well, I can cuddle with you if you want."

"Really?"

"Ya. I mean, I'm your best friend, right? And best friends make each other feel not scared."

"Okay, thanks, Kurt."

Kurt lay down and placed his hand around Blaine's waist.

"Do you feel better?"

"Ya, I do. Goodnight, Kurt."

"G'night, Blaine"

When Liz came to check on them before she went to bed she found Blaine resting his head on Kurt's chest and Kurt's arm around Blaine. She smiled at the two boys, closed the door, and went to bed.


	3. Chapter 2

Liz rang the doorbell and rested her arm on Kurt's scarf while they waited for an answer.

"Hey, Kurt!" Blaine pulled Kurt into the house and helped him out of his winter coat before the two boys ran into the family room to start playing.

"Thanks again for watching him today, Tracy." Liz whispered to make sure Kurt couldn't hear her, "Burt will come pick him up after my appointment."

"Take your time, you just take care of yourself, okay?"

"Thank you." Liz smiled sadly and pulled Tracy into a hug before she walked through the front door on her way to her first session of chemo.

Tracy turned back into her house and walked to the kitchen to start making the boys some blue box mac n cheese.

Liz had only been her friend for five months but they had grown so close. Maybe the bond their sons shared brought them together, maybe it was that they both shared the same view-points about their son's relationship, or maybe it had absolutely nothing to do with their sons at all. The reason didn't matter to Tracy though, her best friend was not doing very well and, besides watching Kurt, there was absolutely nothing she could do to help.

"Tracy?" Kurt's quiet voice pulled her back to reality as she finished stirring the powdered cheesed onto the noodles.

"Yes?"

"Why are we playing at your house today? Don't you and Blaine usually come to my house on Saturdays?"

"Well, your mommy is busy today so I said I would watch you."

"Where is she?"

Tracy squatted down next to Kurt and looked into his blue eyes. This boy had no idea how his life was changing right before his eyes. He had no idea his mother was fighting for her life and that she only had a 20% chance of winning. Everything seen through those blue eyes was so innocent. The world is full of rights and wrongs, there was no in-between, where he gets to play with his best friend and color with his crayons in school.

"She and your dad just had to run some errands this afternoon."

"Oh, okay." Kurt waited bouncing on his toes for Tracy to hand him two bowls and ran back into the family room to eat with Blaine.

Tracy closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She knew this was going to be a rough battle for everyone.

Back in the living room Kurt and Blaine sat crisscross applesauce on the couch facing each other asking questions about school.

"Did that meany Dave do anythin' to you this week?"

Kurt ducked his head down and twisted his fingers with the hem of his pants.

"He did, didn't he?"

"Well, it wasn't anything big like that one time. He just sorta ran into me in the hall." Kurt looked up to see Blaine getting angry, "But it could have been a accident. Honest."

"Kurt!" Blaine grabbed Kurt's shoulders so he could look his straight in the face, "It wasn't an accident. Last week you said that he pushed you down in recess. He's just bullyin' you. You gotta tell someone."

"No." Kurt looked back down at the couch again, "My dad will be so mad, Blaine. I can take care of it."

"You want me to tell my brother or somethin'? He could beat him up for you."

"No, Blaine. I can handle it on my own." Kurt turned to face the TV and crossed his arms. "Are we going to start the movie or not?"

Blaine looked at his friend for a few short seconds before getting up and obediently started the movie.

The Hunchback of Notre Dame was Blaine's favorite movie but today he couldn't concentrate on watching it. He kept glancing over at Kurt trying to think of ways he could protect him. This would be so much easier if he and Kurt went to the same school. Blaine had the courage to stand up to Dave if it meant he wouldn't hurt Kurt anymore. He could not figure out how someone would ever want to hurt Kurt. He is so nice, and smart, and he was Blaine's best friend; he could never be mean to Kurt. Coop had always said he would help if anyone was being mean to him, but Kurt didn't want Cooper's help. He was so lost.

"Hey, how come you're not singing along?"

"Huh?" Blaine snapped his head back to the TV hoping that Kurt didn't catch him staring.

"This is your favorite song. You always sing along."

"Oh, I guess I just don't feel like singin' today."

"Why not?" Kurt scrunched his eyebrows and turned to look at Blaine, "Does your tummy hurt?"

"No, I…" Blaine started chewing on his bottom lip, "It's nothing. Let's just watch the movie."

"Blaine, what is it? I'm your best friend, remember?"

"It's nothing. I'm fine. I swear it."

"Okay…" Kurt scooted closer to Blaine on the couch and grabbed his hand just to make sure his friend was okay. He gave him a sad smile before he turned back to the movie.

Blaine sighed and leaned against Kurt before turning his attention to Esmeralda's singing.

"Of course he can stay here, Burt. It's not a problem." Tracy paced back and forth holding the phone tightly to her ear, "You just take care of Liz, okay?"

"Okay, thank you."

"Anytime. Call me tomorrow."

"I will. Bye."

"Goodbye."

Tracy hung up the phone and sighed against the counter. It was only Liz's first session and things were already going bad. The doctors wanted to keep her overnight because her immediate reaction to the treatment was not what they wanted. Tracy wanted to be there for her friend more than anything in the world but she had two little boys to take care of. One of whose world was about to shatter because he was going to lose his mom and then there was her own son whose heart was about to shatter for Kurt.

That night Tom came home from work surprised to find Kurt still at his house.

"Hey, buddy. How's it going?"

"I'm good Mr. Anderson. My mommy and daddy said I could spend the night at your house. That's so cool, huh?"

"It is. I'm sure Blaine is happy, too?"

"I am, Daddy. This is two weeks in a row we get a sleepover. It's so awesome." Blaine turned and ran up the stairs towards his room with Kurt following immediately behind.

As soon as the boys were out of sight the smile fell from his face and he walked into the living room to greet Tracy.

"So, I take it Liz's treatment isn't off to a great start?" Tom sat next to her on the couch and snuck his arm around her waist and kissing her forehead. He looked down to see Tracy had been holding back tears. "That bad, huh?"

"What's going to happen to Kurt? He is so happy. This is going to crush him." Tracy hid her face in Tom's neck and pulled him closer.

"Well, darling, I wish I knew the answer, but I don't. Situations like this are hard and we have no way of knowing how he is going to take it."

"At least he has Blaine, right?"

"Honey…" Tom thought of little Blaine playing upstairs with Kurt. Kurt, the person he had come to depend on so much. He thought about the effect this could have on his son; how crushed and broken Blaine would be for Kurt, "Do you think we should let them spend this much time together? I mean, they are always together and this is not going to be easy on Blaine. Maybe we should let them have a couple weeks apart from each other?"

Tracy immediately pulled back to look her husband in the eyes.

"Are you kidding?"

"No. I just think it would be better for Blaine if we…"

"And what about Kurt? Do you think this is going to be easy on him? He is going to need Blaine more than ever before. We can't be selfish with our son when his best friend, a young boy our son cares very much about, is going to be going through hell."

"I just thought…"

"No. I cannot believe you could even suggest that. Kurt is practically one of our sons, too. You just want to throw him under the bus?" Tracy stood on her feet and faced Tom while she yelled, "Do you not see how dependent they are on each other? I am not going to do that to Kurt. Never."

"Don't you think their dependency is a little unhealthy?"

"No. I don't." Tracy Anderson stormed out of the room to order pizza for their dinner.

Little did they know that Kurt and Blaine sat at the top of the stairs listening to their argument.

Kurt looked up to Blaine with wide eyes.

"What's going on?"

Blaine wrapped his arm around Kurt's waist and pulled his friend close to him.

"I don't know. But we'll figure it okay."


	4. Chapter 3

Kurt walked into his mom's bedroom slowly before peaking around the corner into their bathroom. He promised Blaine he would ask her what was going on and Blaine was going to ask his mommy, too. Staying tucked safely behind the wall he watched and she began combing her hair gently but with each brush a clump of hair would come out onto the comb. He looked in the mirror and realized that tears were streaming down her cheeks.

"Mommy?"

Liz quickly wiped the tears and put a smile on her face before turning and looking at Kurt.

"Mommy, what's wrong?"

"Nothing, sweetie."

"Then why are you crying?"

Liz sighed and dropped the smile from her face obviously defeated before she called out for Burt to come join them.

She walked over toward the side of the bath tub and sat down pulling Kurt up onto her lap sweeping the hair of out of his eyes. Burt came around the corner and froze when he saw them sitting there.

"I think it's time we had a talk." Liz lightly kissed Kurt's forehead and looked up to Burt for reassurance. "Kurt, have you ever learned about cancer?"

Blaine looked up from his plate of chicken nuggets at his mom. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath before he decided he couldn't put it off any longer.

"Mommy?"

"Yes?"

"What… what's goin' on?"

"What do you mean, baby?"

"Well, on Saturday when Kurt was here we heard you talkin' to daddy and he didn't want us to be friends anymore and you said that something was happenin' to Kurt. And I don't wanna lose him, Mama. He's my best friend and I don't wanna lose him." Blaine began going to panic, "I don't know what I would do without him. He is my best friend and we talk every day and I need him. I can't lose him."

"Hey, hey, hey." Tracy ran around the counter and pulled Blaine out of his chair into her arms. "Calm down, baby boy. It is going to be okay, Kurt is not going anywhere. Everything is going to be okay."

Blaine began to cry even harder onto Tracy's shoulder and she began rocking back and forth on her feet to try to calm him down.

"But, Mommy, if you're sick why don't you just go take a nap? That always helps me feel better. I can rub your back like you do for me. And I can help Daddy make you some soup."

Liz smiled down at her son with sad eyes.

"This is a different kind of sick, Kurt. This is a really bad kind of sick."

"So, what's going to happen?" Kurt looked between his mom and his dad and began to panic. He could just tell that something was off.

"Well, buddy, that's the thing." Burt rubbed his hand up and down Kurt's back, "Your mommy is going to have to go away."

"For how long?"

Liz and Burt shared a look and Burt reached up and wiped the tear from her cheek.

"For forever."

"So, Kurt's mommy is goin' on vacation to get better?"

"No, not quite. She is really sick, Blaine. A kind of sick that… well… it is going to kill her."

"But, then who will be Kurt's mommy?"

Tracy couldn't answer her son; she simply shook her head.

"But, everybody needs a mommy, right?"

"No, not really. As long as someone has people who care about them and love them they can make it without a mommy. So, Blaine, you have to be strong for Kurt. And you have to show him that you care about him and be a best friend for him, okay? Because Kurt is going to be really sad for a long time."

"I know how to cheer Kurt up, Mommy." Blaine's small toothless smile crept onto his face.

The next day Kurt waited anxiously for his parents to finish getting ready so he could go over to Blaine's house. Liz had another doctor's appointment to go to so Tracy was going to watch Kurt for them. Kurt hadn't been able to get his mommy off his mind since he talked to her last night and he knew that Blaine was the only one who could help him feel better right now.

"You ready to go, bud?"

"Ya." Kurt ran out the front door and climbed into the back seat of the van.

Burt helped Liz into the front seat before getting behind the wheel and started down the road.

"Now, remember that you might have to stay at Blaine's house tonight. If you do Tracy will make sure that you get to school tomorrow."

"Will I go to Blaine's school for the day?"

"No," Liz smiled back at her son, "You will still go to your school."

"Oh, okay." Kurt turned and looked out the window for the rest of the ride.

"So I asked my mommy about what we heard." Blaine and Kurt sat next to each other on Blaine's bed.

"Me too." Kurt barely whispered as twisted his fingers in the hem of his shirt. This was starting to become a usual habit for him.

Blaine reached over and grabbed Kurt's hand.

"I know something that might cheer you up." Kurt looked at Blaine as a tear ran down his cheek, "Well… do you remember what you asked me on the Fourth of July?"

"Not really…" Kurt looked up to the ceiling hoping it would help to stop the tears.

"You asked me about there always being a mommy and a daddy." Kurt looked back and Blaine and gave a quick nod, "And I told you that I didn't know but I didn't think that someone could not have a mommy, right?"

Kurt's lips quickly turned down again and his tears began to build. He wasn't sure how Blaine thought this might cheer him up because it didn't. All Kurt could think about was how he was going to have to live without his mommy one day. He was not going to be able to run into her bathroom each morning and help her with her make up. His mommy wouldn't be there to come into his room every night to read him a story before he fell asleep. On Sunday mornings his mommy wouldn't be able to bring him to the coffee shop to meet Blaine and his mommy. He would never walk downstairs and smell her perfume trail. He wouldn't be able to hold her hand while he crossed the street or help her make daddy a birthday cake. He would be all alone.

"But wait, Kurt, don't cry… So I asked my mommy and she said that you can live without a mommy as long as you have people who love you."

"But I don't want to live without my mommy, Blaine."

Kurt could no longer hold himself together. The tears fell freely down his cheeks and began soaking up his shirt. He pulled both his hands into fists and began to pound at Blaine's mattress because he didn't know what else to do. Ever since last night Kurt had tried to stay strong and be a good boy for his mommy because he knew that she needed him, but now his mommy was gone at the doctor and Kurt didn't know what was going to happen. He didn't know if he would ever see his mommy again. A scream ripped from his lungs and he could barely hear Blaine's gasp over his own sobs.

"Kurt? Stop it, please. Kurt, I'm right here." Blaine reached over and wrapped his arms tightly around Kurt's waist. At first Kurt fought and tried to pull his arms away pushing on Blaine to back off, but after a moment the warmth from Blaine's body began to take over and Kurt leaned into it a little more.

Finally Kurt stopped thrashing and just continued to sob onto Blaine's shoulder. Slowly he pulled Kurt up with him so he was resting on the headboard and Kurt lay next to him keeping his arms wrapped around his waist.

Tracy came running into the room with panic stricken eyes, freezing when she saw her son wrapped in Kurt's shaking body.

"Mommy, I don't think I can take care of Kurt on my own." Blaine looked at his mom with wide eyes just pleading her to give some advice.

"That's alright, baby. We can do it together."

Tracy took a few short strides over to Blaine's bed and placed herself next to Blaine.

Kurt was only seven years old; how was he supposed to handle something as terrifying as losing his mother? Blaine was just a few months younger than Kurt and he had to watch his best friend suffer through this. Neither of these boys had ever done anything wrong. She could see how much love these two boys had for each other, even if they didn't know it yet. She and Liz had talked about it so many times before; they were both going to protect them from the harsh people in this world. Let them know that they are free to love whomever they please. Together they were going to teach their sons about acceptance; not only for others, but also themselves. Tracy had never prepared herself to have to protect the boys from their own grief. Tracy had never prepared to have to protect the boys on her own. But she knew that in time she would have to.

In that moment Tracy Anderson decided that the world was a dark and cruel place. She also decided that she would do anything and everything in her power to protect and love the three sons she had been blessed with.

Tracy sat there with the boys for twenty minutes before they both had drifted off into sleep. She stroked her finger through their hair as she thought about their futures. Everything felt so uncertain to her now and she felt so lost.

Tracy jumped a little when she heard the light knock on the door.

"Is everything okay?" Tom stepped to the foot of the bed and took note of the sleeping boys who clung to each other.

"No, of course not. Tom, I just feel so helpless; there is nothing I can do to save Liz and there is nothing I can do to help Kurt through this. Not to mention how hard this is going to be on Burt. She's my best friend, Tom."

"I know, darling. Come here." He walked over and offered Tracy his hand as he helped her up from the bed. "There isn't much we can do but be there for them. We can continue our Friday night dinners with them as usual and we can be there as support as much as we can but beyond that…" he let the empty space carry on his unspoken words.

They both stood there for a moment looking down at Kurt and Blaine. Tracy let a small smile take over while Tom stood stone faced.

"Let's go to bed."

"I'll be there in a minute." Tracy left Tom in Blaine's room as she walked down the hall.

"Don't worry, buddy," He ruffled his fingers gently through Blaine's hair while he slept, "I'm going to protect you, son. I won't let you suffer for Kurt."

Tom was making that promise to Tracy as well, she just didn't know it.

He leaned down and gently kissed both boys on their hair before turning and walking down the hall to join his wife.


	5. Chapter 4

In early February Burt, Kurt, and the entire Anderson family stood around the freshly covered grave. Coop draped his arms around Blaine's shoulders holding him close while Blaine held Kurt's hand. Tom placed his hand on Burt's shoulder and held his wife around her waist. Nobody said anything while the rest of the people who attended the funeral slowly made their way to their cars.

"If you just want a night to yourself, Burt, we can always take Kurt for you." Tom looked warily at his wife as she offered their house up to Kurt like she had so often in the last three months.

"No. I think Kurt just needs something familiar right now. You guys have been honorable about this whole thing, really. I think I just need to take Kurt home and be alone with him for a while. Thank you." Burt slowly turned on his heels and faced Kurt, "Hey, bud, it's time to go home."

"Alright, Daddy, I'll be right there."

Kurt looked down at his shoes and then shifted his eyes to look at his and Blaine's intertwined fingers giving them a little squeeze.

"Blaine… I…" Without making Kurt suffer through trying to find words Blaine reached over and pulled Kurt into a tight hug.

"I'll see you soon, okay?" Kurt nodded against Blaine's shoulder and pulled him a little tighter before letting go and walking over to take his daddy's hand. The two of them walked side by side to the car and pulled away leaving Tom, Tracy, Cooper, and Blaine to stand alone facing each other. Tears streamed down Tracy and Blaine's face.

Blaine didn't understand how he could be so sad; it wasn't his mommy who had died, it was Kurt's. But at the same time Blaine loved Liz. He spent so many Saturdays with Kurt and his mommy and she was always so nice and made them really good cookies. And when he had a nightmare at Kurt's house she would hold him and rock him just like his own mommy did. He loved Liz and now she was gone and Kurt was going to be all alone and he didn't deserve that. And Blaine couldn't stop thinking about his own mommy and how sad she looked right now. Blaine remembered the night after they first met Kurt and Liz; he and his mommy had stayed up talking about them and how they were all going to be best friends. Now Kurt didn't have a mommy, his mommy didn't have a best friend, and everything wasn't going the way he had planned.

Slowly Tom made his way over to Blaine and picked him up and they all made their way to the car.

About two minutes into the car ride Blaine began going into full on hysterics.

"Daddy! I need to be with Kurt. I told him I wouldn't leave him after his mommy died. I need to be with him! I promised, Daddy! I promised…." Cooper leaned over and smothered Blaine into a hug pulling his head into the crook of his neck.

"It's okay, B. Kurt's going to be okay." Blaine lost himself in his brother's arms and the two boys stayed silent in the back seat while Tom gave a cautious look to his wife.

"Tracy, I think they need time apart. Both of them are just so lost right now, they need to be with their family."

But Tracy didn't respond. She didn't even acknowledge that Tom had spoken; she simply kept her head turned out the passenger side window looking out at the passing trees through her watery eyes.

The rest of the car ride was silent besides Blaine's muffled sniffles from the back seat. Cooper and Tom didn't know what to say and Tracy and Blaine were too broken to pull themselves together.

It was a whole week before Kurt got to see Blaine again. He and his daddy had spent most of their time together in silence, Kurt was too scared to ask his daddy anything because he didn't want to see his dad cry again. Burt could barely pull himself together enough to hold back the tears in front of his son but somehow they both managed.

But now it was Friday and Tracy and Burt had decided that they needed to get together for their usual Friday dinners. Much to Tom's dismay the two of them were determined to keep Kurt and Blaine as close as possible so they wouldn't have to go through being apart on top of everything that had happened.

Kurt sat not so patiently on the couch waiting to hear the Anderson's car pull into the driveway so he could finally see Blaine and get the hug he so desperately needed.

As soon as the doorbell rang Kurt was on his feet running to open it. The second the door was unlocked he felt someone on the other side push it open and Blaine came running through the door and ran at Kurt engulfing him into a bear hug almost knocking the two boys off their feet.

Kurt wrapped his arms tightly around Blaine and hid his face in his shoulder. This was as close to home as Kurt had felt since his mommy had died. Kurt could feel the tears rolling down his face but he had been crying so much lately that it didn't faze him.

Blaine held Kurt in his arms until they both lost track of time. Eventually Tom came up the boys and forced them to let go telling them that dinner was ready. Kurt couldn't help but notice how flat his voice sounded compared to usual.

Dinner started off as awkward as ever. Burt and Kurt sat quickly picking at their food like they had for the past week, Tracy silently chewed her food although her brain was obviously somewhere else, Tom sat staring at Tracy just wishing she would become the girl she used to be, and Blaine stared at Kurt trying to find a way to make him smile again. Blaine missed Kurt's smile a little more than he missed the rest of Kurt because his smile was so pretty. At one point when they were first sitting down for dinner Blaine even reached over to take Kurt's hand because that always made Kurt smile; but not tonight. Tonight Kurt looked at their hands for a moment before pulling it away to grab his fork and start eating.

Tom couldn't take the silence, and he couldn't stand the sad looks on the faces of the people he loved or Burt and Kurt. He eventually just started talking; who he was talking to or at wasn't an issue in his mind, he just needed to stop the silence. Burt slowly began to join in and make it more of a two sided conversation once the topic hit cars. Burt appreciated what Tom was trying to do by keeping the topics to something familiar that he could lose himself in. Tracy even chimed in a few times with an "mhm" or a head nod but she never said anything beyond on that.

Once the adults were as wrapped up in their conversation as they were going to get Blaine thought it would be a good time to try to get Kurt to cheer up, too.

"Hey, Kurt." Blaine leaned over and whispered close to his ear.

"What?" Kurt took a quick look at his father to make sure he was distracted before he turned to face Blaine, their faces just inches from each other.

"So, I was talkin' to Coop earlier today and he told me a really funny joke, you wanna hear it?"

Kurt looked away from Blaine back down at his half eaten plate of food. He thought about his mommy like he had so many times this week. He thought about this one time when he first started school and his mommy came to pick him up and she told him a joke and the two of them laughed the entire drive home. He asked her to repeat the joke probably five times and she did each time with a smile on her face. He remembered all the times he and his mommy and daddy would sit around the table and he would watch her tell stories. He would very rarely listen to the actual story because he always got swept up by her facial expressions and the way her eyes would light up when she laughed. Kurt loved his mommy and Kurt missed his mommy and Kurt defiantly wasn't ready to laugh without his mommy. He didn't deserve to laugh without his mommy.

"No."

"Are you sure? It's real funny."

"No. I don't want to hear your joke, Blaine. I don't want to hear any jokes."

Kurt silently went back to passing his food around his plate unknowingly being watched by Tom.

Dinner went on as awkwardly as it had started for the next twenty minutes until everyone was finished eating and the table was silent.

"Well, I think we should get going, Cooper will be coming home soon." Tom stood up and began to clear the table. Burt and Tracy silently joined him while Kurt and Blaine sat staring blankly at the tablecloth.

"Are comin' to sleep over tomorrow?"

"I can't, Blaine. My daddy really needs me."

"Oh, okay." Blaine looked disappointedly at his lap, "I get it."

"I'm sorry, I really am. I just don't want to leave my daddy right now."

"I know. I get it. But we're still best friends, right? Even though you're real sad right now?"

"Of course. We'll always be best friends." Kurt gave Blaine a small hug before Tom came over with his coat and the Anderson family left just as quickly as they had come.

Burt had been avoiding talking to his son about how he felt about losing his mom the entire week. Burt was barely holding himself together and he knew that if he asked Kurt how he was doing he would lose it. But tonight after dinner and seeing how sat Kurt next to Blaine he decided it was time for the two of them to have a talk.

"Hey, bud," Burt tucked Kurt in before sitting down next to him on his bed, "How are you feeling?"

Kurt didn't answer at first. He took his time analyzing the situation as best he could before finding the best words he could.

"I feel… funny, Daddy."

"Funny?" That was the last thing he expected to come from his son's mouth. "What do you mean?"

"Well. I miss Mommy a whole lot and I wish she was hear so I didn't have to miss her anymore. And I always am thinking about her. But when I think about her I think about Blaine's mommy and I think about Blaine and I think about how much I miss him, too. But then I feel real bad cause I should miss Mommy, not Blaine, right?"

"You can miss more than one person at a time, Kurt. Things with Blaine haven't been easy in the past week. Do you know how close Blaine was with Mom? He feels the same way about her as you do about his mom. And Tracy is very sad that Mommy is gone, also."

"But, Daddy, what about when I think something is funny now? I'm not ready to smile because my tummy always feels bad and my heart is sad all the time."

"I'm going to tell you something, kiddo, and I want you to listen really closely, okay?" Kurt nodded before sitting up a bit to give his dad his complete attention. "You want to know what your mommy always told me? That she loved your smile and your laugh. It was her favorite thing about you. And now Mommy is watching over you and me and I bet you more than anything in the world she wants to see your smile again. We don't have to stop living our lives just because Mommy isn't here with us to see it. We need to show Mommy that she raised us right and that we are going to be happy and love each other and take care of each other. You got that?" Burt got choked up as he watched his son absorb his words until eventually he gave up and let the tears fall down his cheeks.

Kurt sat up then and wiped the tears from Burt's cheeks before placing his palm on Burt's cheek and keeping it there.

"I got it, Daddy. It's you and me now and we are going to make Mommy proud."

"Yes we are, buddy." Burt finally pulled his lips into a smile. It had been so long since he had smile but it felt good to show Kurt that everything was going to be okay. Kurt smiled back before removing his hand and laying back down.

"Daddy?"

"Yea?"

"Is it okay if it is you, me, and Blaine sometimes? I miss him real bad."

"Of course. Why don't you invite him over here tomorrow to spend the night and we can have a guy's night?" Kurt hesitated and began twisting his comforter in his hands. "We don't have to if you don't want to."

"I want to. Honest. But I think I messed up, Daddy. I don't think Blaine wants to talk to me anymore; I messed up tonight at dinner."

"Don't worry about it. Blaine is your best friend so whatever you did he will forgive you. How about we give him a call tomorrow?"

"Okay. Thanks, Daddy. Goodnight."

"Sleep tight. Don't let the bed bugs bite."

Kurt smiled up at Burt as he leaned down and give him a kiss on his hair and left down the hall leaving the door cracked just a tiny bit like Kurt had asked him to ever since Liz had died.

Blaine tried to be a big boy and not cry but once he had put himself in bed he couldn't help but let the tears fall. He had just been trying to make Kurt smile again but he had just made him mad. He didn't know what to do anymore. Blaine's door slowly fell open as Tom came in to say goodnight.

"Blaine? What's wrong?" Tom got down on his knees next to Blaine's bed and started rubbing his back.

"I don't know what to do, Papa. Kurt is my best friend and I want to make him happy but I don't know if I can. I don't know what to say to someone who doesn't have a mommy. And I miss his mommy, she was really nice to me. But mostly I miss Kurt's smile a whole lot. Sometimes when he smiles it just makes me feel good and now he won't smile anymore and he doesn't want to sleepover anymore and everything is wrong."

Tom took a moment to simply look at Blaine. He could see how broken his son was over his best friend. He could see how attached the two had become and most importantly he could see how he had broken his promise to himself by letting Kurt break his son.

"I think you and Kurt need to just spend some time apart. He needs to be with his daddy right now and your mommy really could use your help around the house."

"But, Daddy, how am I supposed to make Kurt feel better if I don't see him?"

"Sometimes, buddy, there is nothing you can do to help someone feel better. Sometimes you need to stop being best friends and just start over and find a new best friend."

That make Blaine cry even harder.

"I don't want a new best friend! I want my Kurt!" Blaine pulled the covers over his head and his bed began to shake from him sobs. Tom tried to rub his back again but Blaine screamed and pulled away.

Silently Tom left the room closing the door behind him knowing that he was doing the right thing by separating the boys.

The next morning when Burt called Tom lied and said that Blaine wouldn't be able to sleepover that night because they had an important family event going on.

Blaine never found out about the call.


	6. Chapter 5

Kurt missed Blaine. It had been almost four months since he had last seen him. The first morning his Dad had come into his bedroom saying that Blaine couldn't stay the night had been hard for Kurt. He had started to convince himself that he really had messed up and Blaine wasn't his best friend anymore. And the more times Blaine couldn't see Kurt the more Kurt began to hate himself. He spent his nights crying in his bed trying to hide from Burt because there were things that Kurt couldn't even tell him; like about Dave.

Things with Dave at school had gotten so much worse after his mother died. The first week after Dave didn't do anything so Kurt thought that maybe he was going to stop now that his mom was gone but they didn't. As Kurt tried to pretend he was okay Dave began to bully him again. It started off with yelling at Kurt about how him mom had never loved him and that's why she left him. Then when Dave overheard Kurt telling this girl, Mercedes, that he wasn't best friends with Blaine anymore Dave started to tell Kurt that he didn't blame Blaine for leaving because Kurt was so weird. "I mean, who would want to be friends with you, you like to dress like a girl."

Then a couple weeks later Dave began to push Kurt down recess and kick dirt on top of him or he would always go after him when they played dodge ball in gym on Fridays. Kurt couldn't tell his dad though, because he didn't want to disappoint his dad like he disappointed Blaine.

Things at the Anderson house were no easier for Blaine. Ever since Liz died Tracy had become distant from the rest of the family. She would go through her daily motions and go to work but she didn't smile anymore. She wouldn't participate in the new family game nights that took place of dinner at the Hummel's house on Friday nights and she wouldn't take Blaine to the coffee shop anymore. Blaine, of course, blamed himself. Tom had never told Blaine about the many invitations to go play at Kurt's house and Tom would fake his phone calls to Burt to invite Kurt over hoping that Blaine would move on. Blaine pretended to not care that he didn't see Kurt anymore and stopped asking about him but really Blaine cared more than ever. He began to take after his mom and the two of them would rock in the chair for hours every night not saying a word. Tears would silently stream down their faces, but they would never talk about it. Blaine couldn't decide if he was sadder that about not seeing Kurt again or knowing that Kurt had to still be hurting and there was nothing he could do for him. Sometimes only being eight years old was a terrible thing.

Tom would come home from work every day and watch his wife and youngest son waste away their lives practically dissolving with their tears. Cooper spent more time away at friends' houses now than he did at home to avoid the situation. He couldn't stand to see his baby brother, the one he used to give piggy back rides to, and push on the swings, and tell scary stories to, become so broken.

One Saturday morning Cooper found himself coming down the stairs faced with a day of no plans and a mother and brother who were yet again, rocking in the chair together.

"Hey, B." Cooper walked over and pulled the shoulder of Blaine's shirt to get his attention. Blaine didn't say anything in response; instead he simply turned and looked at his brother. Coop took one look into his eyes and almost fell over; it was a look he had seen before in the mirror. Blaine and him had the exactly same eyes so he could trace every emotion as if it were his own. "I am taking you to the coffee shop for a strawberry smoothie. No questions. Let's go."

Blaine rolled off his mother's lap and gave her a soft kiss on the cheek before turning to his brother, taking his hand, and walking out the front door.

In the car the Anderson brothers sat silently. Blaine gazed out the window and Cooper kept a close eye on him in the rearview mirror.

"Coop?"

"Yea, B?"

"If I do something will you promise not to tell Dad?" Blaine looked into his eyes in the mirror. He had no idea what on earth Blaine could want.

"Well, I guess that depends on what you want to do."

Blaine hesitated a little toying with the hem of his shirt, a trait he found he had picked up from Kurt.

"When I order my smoothie, can I say my name is Kurt instead of Blaine?"

Cooper had to look away from his brother in that moment. He had known that Blaine never got over being Kurt's best friend. He had also known what his dad was doing to them. He and Tom had many talks about it over the last four months. Cooper had stood up for Blaine trying to point out what not being friends with Kurt was doing to him but Tom would always tell him to give it a little more time. He will get over eventually and Cooper would storm out of the house. Now he could not look Blaine in the eyes knowing how much pain he was in.

"Sure thing, B."

Cooper hoped Blaine didn't notice that they were turning onto Kurt's street.

Kurt sat quietly on the couch watching his usual Saturday morning television when the doorbell rang. He got up slowly from the couch hoping his dad would answer it but he was out the garage working on his car and had obviously not heard it ring.

"Blaine…"

"Hi," Blaine couldn't help but let a little smile form but it quickly fell when he saw how upset Kurt was.

"What are you doing here?"

"I brought him." Cooper chimed in from behind Blaine. "Is your dad home? I think we all need to talk about some things."

"Sure. Hang on."

Kurt didn't invite the Anderson brothers into his home on purpose. Instead, he left the front door open as he ran off the garage to get Burt.

"Daddy!"

"What is it, bud?"

"Blaine and his brother are here."

"They… wait, what?" Burt wiped his hands on an already dirty rag before heading into the house after Kurt. He stopped dead in his tracks when he reached the front door and saw the faces of two boys he had known all too well.

"Mr. Hummel, I think you and I need to talk."

"Yea, I think we do."

Burt left Kurt and Blaine in the front room together to play while he brought Cooper into the kitchen.

"So… how have you been?"

"I've been good, I guess. Just finishing up junior year so a lot of college stuff coming up so it can get a little stressful." Cooper awkwardly tapped his fingers on the kitchen counter; he had always been intimidated by Burt but after what his dad had done to them it was so much worse. "Listen, I'm not here to catch you up on my life, although, you were always way more open to things I wanted for my future than my dad… anyway, I need to tell you something."

"This is about Blaine." It wasn't a question, just Burt helping Cooper along with the conversation starter.

"Ya. It's kind of hard to explain if I don't explain _everything_ though."

"Hey," Burt pulled a chair out at the kitchen table and sat down, "I've got all day."

Cooper went over and sat across from him and took a deep breath.

"Well, I guess I should probably tell you about my mom first…"

Over in the living room Kurt and Blaine sat awkwardly on opposite sides of the couch facing each other.

"Blaine?"

"Ya?"

"How come we aren't best friends anymore?"

One of the things that Blaine loved about Kurt was that he wasn't afraid to ask questions. Sometimes when his Mom or Dad or even Cooper wanted to know something they would ask a whole bunch of questions and Blaine would have to try to figure out what they wanted, but Kurt didn't do that. If he had a question about something he would simply ask it.

"Well, I don't really know. I didn't know how to make you feel better after your mommy died and I made you real mad at dinner that night so I guess I always thought that you didn't want to be my friend anymore."

"What? Blaine you didn't make me mad at dinner. I didn't think I was allowed to smile yet cause I still missed my mom really badly, I still do, but I was wrong. My dad said that it is alright to smile because she loved my smile so I can't hide it."

"I like your smile, too."

That made Kurt smile and in return Blaine smiled back. Kurt missed this; he missed just sitting down with Blaine and talking and watching their favorite movies, and playing with all the awesome toys they had. Kurt's smile quickly faded when he remembered that they weren't best friends anymore.

"But Blaine, how come you never wanted to come over when I invited you then?"

"You never invited me over, Kurt. I would have said yes in an instant."

"Yes, I did. My dad called your house the next day after dinner but he said your dad said you couldn't come over. He kept calling but finally your dad said you couldn't be my friend anymore and he should stop calling."

"He never told me about that. He told me that because I couldn't help you feel better at dinner that I needed to find a new best friend."

"Oh." Kurt felt his stomach sink at the thought of Blaine having another best friend. Blaine noticed the sudden sadness in his eyes and scooted over next to him on the couch.

"I don't have another best friend. I wanted my old one back." Blaine reached over and took Kurt's hand.

Kurt looked up at Blaine smiling.

Back in the kitchen Burt paid close attention as Cooper finished up explaining everything that had happened.

"I tried fighting for Blaine but he won't budge. He told me that your family has hurt ours enough."

"That just doesn't sound like him…"

"A lot of things have changed since your wife's death, Mr. Hummel. She was very important to all of us."

"She was a real special lady, wasn't she?"

"She still is."

Burt took a moment to let the memories of his wife flood his brain. He thought about all the times he had sat back and just watched how she and Tracy would gossip like high school girls, or all the times she would treat Blaine like he was her very own son, even the time she gave Cooper girlfriend advice.

"So, do you want me to have a talk with your dad?"

"No!" Cooper nearly shot out of his chair, "Trust me, that wouldn't work. That would actually make it worse because then he would know that we were here. I just thought that the two of you deserve to know what was going on. However, I am willing to do this again. You know, bring Blaine over here to see Kurt. My dad doesn't have to find out."

Burt didn't like the idea of teaching the boys to go behind Tom's back at such a young age but then he thought about the last four months with Kurt. He thought about all the times he would lay in bed and hear Kurt crying through the walls. He thought about all the times he would pick Kurt up from school and he would just seem so sad. He thought about the fact that he could count the number of times he had heard Kurt's laugh on one hand.

"It's not my favorite idea."

"I know, mine either. But, sir, I don't think we have any other choice. I'm not going to let Blaine tear himself apart anymore."

"And I'm not going to keep Kurt the way he is either. I'm in."

"Perfect."

"So you're just going to tell dad that you ran into one of your friends from school and that I am going to take you to sleepover at his house tonight, alright?"

"But why can't we just tell Dad that I am going to Kurt's?"

"Because, Blaine," Cooper took a deep breath, "It's hard for me explain but we just can't okay? If you want to see Kurt again you're just going to have to trust me. Okay?"

"Okay." Blaine felt nervous about lying to his dad. He had never done it before but if it meant he got sleepover at Kurt's house he figured he could make an exception.

With the help of Cooper the two of them were able to easily slip the lie passed their dad and they were up in Blaine's room packing his clothes.

"Now if you want anything you need to call my cell phone, not the home phone, okay?"

"Got it."

"And I am spending the night at Andy's so I will be just a few minutes from Kurt's house."

"Coop. I've slept over at his house before. You're making me nervous."

"Sorry." The two brothers finished packing their clothes and went back downstairs to say their goodbyes and left out the door."

Over at Kurt's house Blaine, Kurt, and Burt took their time to cook dinner together and laughed just like old times. Blaine we nervous at first because he didn't know if he could call Kurt is best friend again, but as soon as he got back there he fell into routine like he had a million other times.

After watching The Lion King together Burt put the two boys to bed and went back downstairs to finish watching the game.

Right before Blaine fell asleep he noticed the large bruise that was on Kurt's lower back.


	7. Chapter 6

**Pre-Chapter Notes: **

**So I want to clear some timeline things up because I have had a few questions. Right now we are at about a year after they met (a week or two shy of) therefore both boys are now 8. This chapter picks up right where the last one left off though, no time jump. The other question I have had is if there is going to be a time jump to high school Kurt and Blaine: Eventually they will be in high school but I don't want it to be one big jump from elementary school to high school. There will be a few smaller time jumps to get there but not one big one.**

Kurt flinched away from the rough voice that called out his name from down the hall.

"Hey, Hummel! I'm talking to you." Dave walked up and pulled Kurt's shoulder forcing them to face each other. "You can't just ignore me when I'm talking."

"And what's going to stop me?" Kurt immediately wished he could take the words back; he didn't know what had come over him to say them in the first place but based on the look on Dave's face he was going to regret it.

"Well, I don't know, maybe this?" Dave used his grip on Kurt's shoulders to pull him down towards the end of the hallway.

"Blaine! Help me!" The fear built up in Kurt's throat stopping his words.

"Your boyfriend isn't going to save you now just like he wasn't there to save you in elementary school. Here we are eight years later and nothing has changed. You're still a girl and I'm still better than you." Dave smirked over at Kurt before shoving him back against the wall of the hallways causing him to fall to the ground. He walked over and put his dirty tennis shoe on Kurt's stomach holding him down. "Have a good summer, lady boy." He gave Kurt's gut one last shove before walking away.

Kurt jolted up from his bed and tried to catch his breath. He rubbed his hands over his eyes hoping to erase the images from his head.

"Are you okay?" Blaine sat up next to Kurt looking at him with concern, "You kept kicking your legs and talking in your sleep."

"I just had a bad dream." Kurt could feel the tears begin to fall down his cheeks but he did nothing to stop it. All he wanted right now was to sleep next to his mommy, but he knew that she wouldn't be in her bed down the hall.

"Do you wanna talk about it?" Kurt bit his lip and began to twist his fingers in his lap, a gesture that Blaine remembered well. "You don't have to; I just thought it might help. But that's okay if you don't."

"Thanks." Kurt looked down to his hands and smiled a little. He had forgotten how well Blaine understood him.

"Do you want me to hold your hand while you try to sleep again?" Blaine extended his hand for Kurt to take, which he did without hesitation.

Kurt and Blaine lay back down on their backs facing the ceiling. Blaine felt Kurt's hand firmly in his own. Whatever was going on with Kurt that was causing bad dreams and giving him bruises he was going to fix it. Not even his Dad could stop him.

Kurt hated lying to Blaine. He just wanted to tell him about Dave and he wanted it all to be over. He wanted to know that next week when summer started the two of them could play every day and they could go to the coffee shop and everything could just be like it was before.

"Hey, Blaine?"

"Yes?"

"Can we be best friends again?"

Blaine squeezed Kurt's hand and smiled to himself.

"Yea, we can."

Kurt turned his head to face Blaine and smiled and Blaine mimicked him.

"Good, cause I missed you."

"I missed you, too."

Both the boys let sleep consume them once again keeping their hands linked together.

Tracy wasn't dumb; she had seen that look on Blaine's face before. That was the look he used to wear when he and Kurt would hang out. She thought back to the first time she had seen that look in the coffee shop. Her son had come running over and sat down at some other lady's table and started talking to her. It didn't Tracy long to realize that this boy was special to her son. And he was wearing that look now.

Tracy wasn't dumb; she knew exactly where Cooper and had brought Blaine home from, but she wasn't going to say anything.

What Tracy didn't realize is that knowing that Kurt was in Blaine's life was making her feel better. She was smiling more; she made dinner every night this week, and spent less and less time in the chair.

Tom saw these differences. He was so proud of his wife and son; they had overcome so much pain. He knew he was doing the right thing by separating Blaine from Kurt. Tom would never admit it to anybody but he was so angry with the Hummels. He blamed them for all the pain his family had experienced; for all the days Blaine and Tracy had spent wasting their lives away. And now that Blaine and Kurt weren't friends anymore Tom didn't feel guilty about the fact that he never liked Kurt to begin with. There was something about their relationship that made Tom uncomfortable, like the way he had walked into Blaine's room one night when Kurt was sleeping over and the two boys were cuddled close together, or how they would hold hands whenever they played together. Tom had even overheard Blaine telling Tracy that he never wanted to get a girlfriend so he could always hold hands with Kurt. He had never worried about his son's sexuality until Kurt came along. Blaine was still young and that gave Tom plenty of time to help Blaine be normal. Tom wasn't ready, nor would he ever be ready, to raise a gay son.

Blaine lay in his bed replaying everything from the last week in his head. He was excited because tomorrow was the last day of school which meant tomorrow night he would be able to sleep over at Kurt's house again. He hoped more than anything that Kurt would finally tell him what was bothering him. Blaine had thought of so many possibilities as to where the bruises had come from or why he was saying Blaine's name in his sleep before waking up from a bad dream. All he wanted to do was help but he didn't know how.

Kurt jumped out of bed the next morning to get ready for his last day of school. It was the last day before summer, it was the last day before he got to see Blaine, and most importantly it was the last day he had to deal with David Karofsky.

He didn't want to tell Blaine about Dave again, in fact, he was hoping that after today he could just forget about it all together. Somehow after not seeing Blaine for so long he thought that if he told him that the bullying from Dave had just gotten worse Blaine would think he was a coward or that he would want to stop being his friend and Kurt couldn't handle that. He would keep his problems with Dave to himself.

His elementary school always had a fair on the last day to bring all the students together and give them one last day of fun before summer started which means that avoiding Dave would be easy today and then he was carefree. However, the day didn't go as planned.

Dave ended up being in Kurt's group. He tripped Kurt during the relay race, he held Kurt's head under the water for too long at bobbing for apples, he painted "lady boy" on his face at the face painting station and none of the teachers did anything. They either didn't realize or just turned a blind eye. Kurt spent the better half of his afternoon hiding in the bathroom with a wet paper towel washing the paint off. He hid in a stall behind a locked door so that if Dave came in he couldn't see that Kurt was crying. That was just one more thing Dave could come after Kurt for: being a baby. By the end of the day Kurt was so hurt and confused and exhausted from trying to hide everything that he couldn't even make it an entire car ride home without falling asleep.

Burt slipped the seatbelt off of Kurt's small body and held him in his arms. He remembered the nights that he and Liz would go into Kurt's room after he went to bed and just watch him sleep. Liz would always talk about how he looked so peaceful laying there. They had many conversations about how they wanted to protect him and keep him innocent for forever, but they both knew the truth about Kurt. They had known for years that Kurt was gay but that didn't matter. They both loved him and would be there when the rest of the world would try to hurt him. But ever since Liz died Burt hadn't taken the time to actually look at Kurt while he slept. Something about him was different; he had a much smaller frame around his face and dark bags under his eyes. Even in his sleep Burt could tell how much of Liz's death had changed Kurt. He looked more mature, like he had grown up too much too soon, and all of his innocence had been lost. Burt had nothing left to protect.

Carefully he placed Kurt on the couch before going into the kitchen to fix them both snacks.

"Dave! Stop it! Ouch!" Burt came running into the living room still carrying the peanut butter and knife to check on his son. Kurt was squirming and kicking his legs in his sleep with his face scrunched up in pain. "Stop it! Blaine, help me!"

"Whoa, buddy." Burt squatted down and shook his shoulders and Kurt shot up from the couch in a panic. "Hey, kiddo, you're alright. It was just a bad dream." Kurt looked over at his dad and gave a small smile that Burt saw right through.

"Do you want to tell me about it?"

"No thanks," Kurt looked down at the table and saw Burt's peanut butter and knife, "I would much rather go have a snack. Peanut butter and honey sandwich?"

"Sounds good." Burt placed a fake grin on his face and helped Kurt into the kitchen. Something was going on and he was going to find out.

"No more school!" Blaine went running into Kurt's house with his arms out like an airplane. Kurt quickly stood up from the couch and joined him in running around the house. Cooper watched from the doorway with a smile on his face waiting for Burt.

"I think we made the right decision." Burt looked at the boys as he stepped around the corner. "We may have to lie to Tom about this, but the look on their faces every time they see each other is worth it."

"I know. Blaine has been so happy all week, he is even helping my mom feel better." Cooper smiled at the thought of his mother's progress. She had come so far and he had Kurt and Burt to thank for that.

"Really? That's fantastic."

"It is. I'm hoping things in our house will go back to normal and I will be able to tell Dad about you two. But I want to be 100% sure he won't react badly."

"That's probably smart cause I don't think I could put Kurt through that separation again. It was so hard."

"I know. I can't do that to Blaine either. I only wish I would have thought of it sooner, maybe saved some suffering."

Burt hesitated with his thoughts before turning completely towards Cooper.

"Can I ask you something?"

Cooper furrowed his eyebrows for a moment and stepped closer to Burt so the boys couldn't hear.

"Sure. What's up?"

Burt quick looked over at the boys playing in the living room to make sure they weren't listening.

"This afternoon Kurt was taking a nap and he had a nightmare. He kept saying 'help me' 'save me' like he was in pain. He even asked for Blaine to help him. But the part that I don't get is he said somebody else's name. Do you know someone named Dave? Has Blaine ever talked about anything going on?"

Cooper took a moment to think back to anything Blaine could have said before shaking his head.

"I've never heard Blaine talk about someone named Dave. But if you want I could ask him about it; see if he can figure out what's going on?"

"Could you? I'm just really worried for him."

"Of course. Kurt is like a brother to me, if something is bothering him it's going to bother me too."

"Thanks, Coop. I've never had Kurt not tell me what's bothering him. I'm a little worried."

"Let's just hope it's nothing."

Burt nodded and looked back at his son. He wore what Burt referred to as his Blaine smile.

"Let's hope."


	8. Chapter 7

One week later Cooper was laying in his bed replaying his conversation with Burt in his mind. He had started to pay close attention to the things Blaine would say when he talked about Kurt. He remembered when Blaine was about four years old and broke one of the kitchen glasses when he was trying to get a drink of water; Blaine walked around for a whole two days jumpy as ever, and every time he talked his stories wouldn't line up until, finally, Tom was able to force the story out of him. Now Coop listened for the same kind of gaps in his stories when he talked about Kurt; any moments he may stumble upon his words or tell a story differently two times in a row. But Blaine's stories all matched and Blaine was always happy as ever when he came home from staying at Kurt's house.

Cooper was pulled from his thoughts when he heard Blaine whimper from his bed across the room. Coop rolled on his side to look at the clock, it was 2:30. There was no way Blaine was still awake. Trying to forget the sound, he pulled himself back into his memories to piece together what could be wrong with Kurt but Blaine made a noise again.

Blaine had never been a sleep talker; Cooper of all people would know because they had shared a room their whole lives. He quietly got out of his bed and tip toed over to where Blaine was sleeping. Blaine's eyebrows were furrowed together and his lips were moving as if he were talking silently to himself. Just as Blaine was about to roll over and start crying again Cooper reached down to shake his shoulders.

"Hey, B, wake up."

Blaine slowly opened his eyes to look up at him.

"Is it time to get up?"

"No. Were you just having a nightmare?"

Blaine took a moment to think back to his dream.

"No. Not really…"

"Oh, okay." Cooper furrowed his eyebrows not knowing what to think of the situation before he turned and went back to bed. Behind him, Blaine didn't lay back down. Instead, he lifted his right hand and began to scratch uncomfortably at his wrist until it began to turn red.

"Coop?"

"Yea, B?"

"Can I come sleep in your bed?"

Cooper rolled on his side using his elbow to prop his head up.

"I thought you didn't have a bad dream."

"I didn't!" Blaine spoke back almost defensively, "I just… never mind. Goodnight."

Cooper was quiet for a moment before giving into his little brother.

"Come on over here." He pulled the covers up and scooted back against the wall giving Blaine more than half of his bed.

Immediately Blaine was out of his bed tip toe running across the room. After he crawled in bed he planted a light kiss on Cooper's cheek.

"You're the best big brother I could ever have."

"Ya, ya. Now get to sleep, Squirt, before I change my mind and kick you out."

"You wouldn't do that."

"Oh really? And what makes you say that?"

"Because you love me."

Cooper was surprised by Blaine's answer. He wasn't sure where Blaine's response had come from. He still remembered his innocent little brother who liked to play house and choo-choo train but apparently there was more to him than just that. Cooper wrapped his arm around Blaine and pulled him close hoping to keep him young and innocent for as long as possible.

Even months after Liz's death Burt still struggled to find his way around the grocery store. He looked down at his list and realized he still needed chicken nuggets, and, of course, Kurt was still going through the phase of only eating the dinosaur shaped ones.

As he not so gracefully turned his cart down the frozen foods aisle he almost ran right into none other than Tom and Tracy Anderson. Burt was so glad that Cooper and offered to stay at the Hummel's house and watch over the boys while he went to the store.

"Burt! Hi, how are you?" Tracy wore a big smile on her face and stepped out in front of Tom to pull Burt into a quick hug.

"I'm doing well. How about yourself?"

"Well, you know." She shrugged at him knowingly, "It's nice to have the boys home again for summer. Speaking of, is Kurt here?"

Tracy immediately wanted to withdraw her question. She knew perfectly well that Kurt and Blaine were hanging out right now. She had caught on to Cooper and Blaine the very first night they started meeting up at the Hummel's house, but Tom still had no idea.

Burt took a moment to look at Tom; he remembered all of the things he had put Kurt and Blaine through. Forcing the boys to separate when they both needed each other the most, having to watch Kurt come home from school each day and spend every weekend so heartbroken over the fact that his best friend didn't want to see him anymore, the pure joy on both of the boy's faces the day Cooper and Blaine appeared on their doorstep two weeks ago.

"No, Kurt isn't here." Burt didn't want to lie to Tom and Tracy anymore. He wanted their boys to have the freedom of going outside of the Hummel's house to play together. He didn't want to have to teach either of them that lying was okay, but he sure as hell was not going to risk them getting split up again. That didn't mean he couldn't try putting a little guilt in their chests. "Kurt hasn't been doing so well. He had a hard last part of the school year after Liz died."

He could see Tom's very slight shift in demeanor and decided to keep going. Besides, he wasn't really lying; all of this did happen before Blaine came back.

"I'm not exactly sure what's wrong. He doesn't have any friends from school and he spends most of his time locked up in his room. I only leave the house when necessary now because he refuses to go anywhere besides the shop. Our neighbor is looking after him now." Burt realized he got a little carried away towards the end of his guilt trip but it didn't really bother him that much.

Tracy turned back to Tom and said she was going to go find some fruits they needed before quickly walking away. Burt could have sworn he saw her wink as she walked by him.

"So Kurts not taking it so well…."

"Would you be?" Burt stared directly at Tom hoping that if he just pushed a little harder Tom would give in and let Blaine see Kurt again. "I mean, if your mother died and suddenly everyone important to you was gone do you think you would be okay?"

"No. I suppose not." Tom looked awkwardly over his shoulder hoping that Tracy would come walking around the corner again. "You could always try to help Kurt meet new friends."

"No." Burt closed his eyes shaking his head, "I'm not going to force my boy into doing anything that he doesn't want to do. What kind of father would? All I want is for my boy to be happy again and believe me when I say I would go to the ends of the world to see a smile on his face."

All Burt wanted to do was rub their secret right into Tom's obnoxiously large head. Let him know that Kurt was the reason Blaine was happy again, not some mystery friend. But he knew that if he did that the chances of Tom taking Blaine away were high; too high to risk. So instead, Burt grabbed the handle of his cart firmly and pushed it down the aisle only stopping to grab a bag of dinosaur chicken nuggets before heading for the check out.

At the Hummel's house Cooper had managed to tire the boys out enough until they both fell asleep on the couch. It had been years since Cooper had to put Blaine down for a nap; he always hated doing it, too. Blaine was picky and would never just go to bed. He would get up and keep asking Coop to re-tuck him in. Now, however, he and Kurt were leaning against each other on the couch with intertwined fingers.

Cooper sat in the chair and just watched the two sleeping for a while. He thought back to everything they had done that day or the way the boys moved around each other. He had never really thought anything of it before because they were, well, Kurt and Blaine, but now that he was thinking of it Cooper couldn't help but notice how… different their friendship was.

Cooper sat there trying to remember when he had his first crush on a girl. It had to have been eaerly elementary school, right? He promised himself that when he brought Blaine home from Kurt's house later he would ask Blaine if he had a crush on anybody. He also promised himself that no matter who Blaine said, he would be happy for him. Maybe even a little upset if it wasn't Kurt.

Just then he heard the garage door start and open and he knew that Burt was back from his day of errands.

"Here, let me help you." Cooper quietly took the bags from Burt's arms and headed into the kitchen. "The boys fell asleep probably about fifteen minutes ago."

"Oh, good. I don't think Kurt slept very well last night."

"Neither did Blaine, it was weird."

"But they always seem fine when they're together."

Cooper awkwardly shifted his weight between his feet, he didn't want to over step on asking Burt about Kurt and Blaine but at the same time he needed to know.

"Have you ever thought that..." Cooper began to tap his fingers on the table while he searched for the right words.

"That this whole thing could turn into more than a friendship?" Burt interjected while filling two cups with lemonade.

"Ya." Cooper's stomach turned while he waited for Burt's answer. What if Burt wasn't okay with it? What if he got mad at Cooper for even bringing it up?

"I have thought about it."

"And…?"

Burt walked over and handed one of the glasses to Coop before sitting down across from him at the table.

"And I want Kurt and Blaine to be happy, and whatever that means I will stand behind them 100%. Liz and I, we talked about this a lot; especially after she got sick. We've both kind of assumed for a while, but we didn't want to say anything. We wanted Kurt to figure everything out on his own. It's my job to love my son no matter what the future brings. I feel that way about you and Blaine, too. You all just need to do what makes you happy and just know that I will be there to back you up."

"Do you think that's what has been bothering the two of them? Do you think they're scared cause maybe they realized they might have a crush on the other one or something?"

"Don't you think they're too young for that?"

Cooper started laughing and almost choked on his lemonade.

"Burt, I'm pretty sure I had my first crush on a girl in like, first grade. Cynthia Johnson." Cooper smiled to himself before he looked over at Burt eyeing him. "Sorry."

Burt simply smiled, shook his head, and took a sip of his lemonade before looking at Cooper straight on.

"Do you think we should, like, talk to them?"

"I'm going to talk to Blaine. I know my parents won't, and even if they do I don't want them to discourage anything. You're right; they deserve to be happy."

"Maybe I will talk to Kurt, too."

Cooper smiled as he got both him and Burt some more lemonade.

"Speaking of your parents, I saw them at the store today."

"Really? That had to have been awkward."

"It was. I tried to guilt your dad into letting Blaine see Kurt again so we could stop lying to them. It didn't work."

"Honestly, I'm not surprised. My dad is kind of an ass like that."

"Hey!"

"What? You can't disagree."

Burt just rolled his eyes before getting up to put the rest of the groceries away.

"So, Kurt, we haven't really gotten the chance to talk about how school ended." Kurt practically froze in his seat. Did his dad find out about Dave? "I was thinking that maybe this year for the Fourth of July we could have some of your friends over?"

"Like Blaine?" Kurt relaxed a little but he knew this conversation was going somewhere.

"Of course Blaine can come but what about any of your friends from school. Is there anybody you want to invite?"

"How about we invite Blaine _and _Cooper, and maybe Cooper can bring his girlfriend."

"Well, I think Coop already has his own plans. But while we're on the topic of girlfriends, got your eye on anybody, kiddo?"

Kurt found himself freezing for the second time that night.

"No, Dad. All the girls in my class are gross."

"Well, what about any of the boys?" Burt's voice came out a little more hesitant than he had planned.

"Boys? But…" Kurt put his head in his hands rubbing his face while he took a deep breath, "But I'm a boy. Are boys supposed to like girls?"

"They don't have to. People can like whoever they want. It all just depends on who makes you happy, and who cares about you."

"Oh." There was only one person that popped into Kurt's head when Burt said that; Blaine. Blaine had always been there, except when his dad wouldn't let him. Blaine was the only one Kurt trusted to talk to about Dave, the only one who didn't make fun of him for liking clothes, and he was the only one who held his hand and helped him when he had nightmares.

"So, uh, is there somebody, Kurt?"

"Ya, Daddy, I think there is." Kurt put on a smile that Burt knew well: the Blaine smile.

"So, Squirt, any crushes?"

"What?" If Blaine hadn't been wearing a seat belt he was sure he would have fallen out of his seat.

"You heard me. Who do you like?" Cooper reached over and ran his fingers through Blaine's hair.

"I don't even know what a crush is."

"Well," Cooper tried to keep the topic light hearted but serious at the same time, "A crush is when someone makes you feel special. Like maybe when you look at them you can't stop smiling, or you always want to be around them. They may even give you butterflies in your tummy." With that Cooper tickled Blaine tummy until he started to giggle.

"But if you have a crush on someone and they have a crush on you, is that how you get a girlfriend?"

"That's how I got my girlfriend, yes."

Blaine remembered his and Kurt's talk last year on Fourth of July. If neither of them ever got girlfriends they would be able to continue to hold hands. Besides, once he started thinking about all the girls in his class he couldn't think of a single one that made him feel special. Tina had shared her cookies with him at lunch one day, and that seemed pretty special, but that was almost a whole month ago. Now that Blaine was always playing with Kurt he didn't really have any girls that made him feel special and he definitely did not want a girlfriend.

"Nope. No crushes."

"Am I going to have to tickle it out of you, B?"

"No!" Blaine scooted over in his chair until he was safely pressed against the door, "I'm serious. I don't have a crush on anyone."

"I don't believe you."

"Why not?"

"Because you're always holding hands with Kurt."

"Ya, but Kurt is a _boy._"

"So?"

"So…" Blaine didn't like this topic anymore. He was really confused. Boys had girlfriends and girls had boyfriends; it was that simple. "Kurt can't be a girlfriend if he is a boy. That would make him a boyfriend."

"And you don't want a boyfriend?"

"Hello! I'm a boy! I can't have a boyfriend."

"Who told you that?"

Blaine was caught off guard by Cooper's reaction. Of course boys can't have boyfriends, that'd just be weird… right?

"Nobody. I just don't want a boyfriend."

"Okay, fine. We'll drop the subject."

"Thank you."

Blaine turned to look out the window. He was more confused than he had ever been. All those things about crushes that Cooper had said made him think of Kurt, but isn't that how friends are supposed to feel for each other, too? Blaine couldn't have a crush on another boy, he just couldn't. In his head he ran through the list of girls in his class one more time. Nope, definitely no crushes.

"Blaine, have you ever had a crush?" Kurt and Blaine sat in Kurt's backyard picking at the grass.

"My brother just asked me that! Why does everybody want to know?"

"Well, my daddy just asked me about it, too, and I guess I was just curious. You don't have to tell me if you don't wanna."

"Of course I'm going to tell you, Kurt. You're my best friend, remember?"

"Ya." Kurt smiled shyly up at Blaine, "So, do you? Have any crushes I mean."

"No. Cooper explained what a crush is but there are no girls in my class that I want to be my girlfriend."

"What about any boys?"

"I think it'd be weird for a boy to have a boyfriend. That's not how it's supposed to be."

"Oh," Kurt felt his heart drop into his stomach. What if Blaine thought Kurt was weird for having a crush on a boy? What if he didn't want to be his friend anymore?

"Ya, I mean, it's like only girls are supposed to have crushes on boys."

And then everything clicked in Kurt's head. He thought back to all the times that Dave had called him a ladyboy or told him he was girly or weird. Kurt made a connection between Dave and Blaine. He didn't want Blaine to start pushing him in the halls or kicking dirt on his new clothes. Kurt just wanted Blaine to be his friend; he couldn't lose him again.

"You're right. It is weird. I don't have any crushes either."

Later that night, Kurt and Blaine were sitting on the couch watching a movie. Blaine reached over and took Kurt's hand like he had millions of times before, but this time Kurt felt all the blood rush to his cheeks where his skin turned a few shades pinker.

Hiding this crush was going to be harder than he thought.


	9. Chapter 8

**HERE IS THE FIRST TIME JUMP. PLEASE WELCOME MIDDLE SCHOOL KURT AND BLAINE.**

Kurt hated when boys wore sweatpants; they were too baggy, hung on their hips weird, and made it look like they had just rolled out of bed. But when Blaine wore his sweatpants to school, Kurt couldn't help but stare.

He watched from his locker as Blaine pulled out his binder, neatly placed his papers inside before zipping it up and started walking over towards him. Kurt quickly turned around and pretended to be getting books out of his locker hoping he wasn't just caught in his daydream.

"Hey, so my mom said she could pick us up after practice tonight, if that's okay."

"Is your dad out of town again?"

"Ya, he's in Michigan this week… I think. Anyway, she said that since he's gone you can have dinner over at my house."

"Alright, sounds good. I'll just call my dad during lunch."

Halfway through Cooper's senior year Tracy finally confessed to Blaine and Cooper that she knew about Kurt. They were afraid she was going to take him away again, but instead she helped them sneak around Tom easier. She had taken over once Cooper was officially out of the house, and now that Tom was out on business almost every other week it made everything so much easier.

"So," the boys started walking down the hall towards English class, "How late did you stay up finishing that essay last night?"

"Blaine, if you don't know that I never wait until the last minute by now, how can you call yourself my best friend?"

"Sorry. Sometimes I forget you're a freaking goody two shoes."

"I am not!" Kurt mockingly placed his hand dramatically on his chest before knocking Blaine's shoulder playfully. "I'm guessing you were up pretty late?"

"No, I obviously have had it done for weeks." Kurt smiled at Blaine's ceaseless sarcasm and felt butterflies rise in his stomach. He quickly looked away as he took his seat on the far side of the room. Mr. Ashworth insisted on making his classes sit in assigned seats and somehow Kurt and Blaine always managed to be across the room from each other.

Blaine took out his essay and laid it neatly on top of his desk before placing his binder under his seat. He turned and held it up for Kurt to see mouthing "finished for weeks". Kurt smiled and dropped his head hiding the giggle Blaine was sure just escaped his lips. Even five years after they met, Blaine still thought Kurt's smile was the best thing in the world. He would never admit it, but that is why he was so sarcastic all of the time; because it made Kurt laugh.

Before he could be caught staring Blaine turned to the front of the class as Mr. Ashworth asked them to hand their essays forward. From somewhere behind him a note appeared on his desk. Blaine pulled it onto his lap to open it:

**Why do you still hang out with that fag Hummel?**

Blaine turned around irritably to find out who the note belonged to. Of course, David Karofsky sat staring at Blaine with eyebrows raised.

Blaine pulled out his pen and quickly scribbled a reply:

_What's it to you?_

**IDK. Maybe the fact that he shows us to our practices everyday**

_And…?_

**And I don't want the creep watching me play football! I don't want to have to worry about him coming onto me or something.**

Before Blaine could scribble out a response the note was being swept up from his desk by none other than Mr. Ashworth.

Blaine watched as Ashworth's eyes scanned the note and then went back and forth between Dave and himself. He was so sure that Dave would get sent to the principal's office for calling Kurt a fag. It took all of Blaine's will power not to crack a smile

"Boys, there will be no passing notes in my class. I trust you two will continue your conversation at a more appropriate time?"

Blaine practically dropped his jaw to the desk. Kurt wasn't joking when he told him that nobody cares what Dave does.

At the end of class Kurt rushed over to Blaine to ask him what was on the note.

"Oh, just Dave being Dave," Blaine couldn't bring himself to tell Kurt exactly what Dave had said, but Kurt could fill in the blanks. "I'll see you at lunch."

After that the boys parted to go to their separate classes.

Kurt sat in history class not paying any attention to the lesson. His problems with Dave seemed to falter after him and Blaine had become friends again. Kurt hadn't ever told Blaine about how bad things had gotten after his mom died but once they started middle school together Dave's bullying picked up again. This time he couldn't hide it from Blaine.

The one thing Kurt could not figure out is why Dave had assumed that he was gay. Kurt didn't even know himself. Sure, he got butterflies when he was with Blaine but that was just because they were best friends, right? And it didn't matter that Kurt was into fashion. How was a twelve year old boy supposed to make such a big decision? He had never kissed a boy or a girl. Kurt rubbed his hands over his face in frustration as the bell rang.

When school got out Kurt took his time at his locker gathering his books and homework for the weekend before making his way out to the football field. He didn't understand a single thing about the game, but he showed up every day to watch and support Blaine.

Kurt walked up passed the group of giggling girls to the top row of seats. Suddenly he heard Blaine and Dave yelling at each other from the track.

"Who cares if he likes to wear nice clothes? He looks a lot better than you do!"

"It's creepy, alright? I don't want him hanging around here anymore."

"Well that sucks for you, doesn't it? Kurt is my friend and if he wants to come to watch our practices then he's going to."

"God, if I didn't know any better I'd say you're just as gay as he is."

"Kurt isn't gay! If he were I would know, I'm his best friend."

"You just keep telling yourself that."

With that Dave slammed his helmet on and walked onto the field. Blaine turned around to face Kurt who quickly picked up his book and pretended to be reading. Blaine saw right through his act, though. He gave Kurt a sad smile before running onto the field to join the rest of the team.

Blaine would never admit it to his teammates but having Kurt at all of their practices is what made them bearable. He hated almost everyone on the team. Mike was the only one who was his friend, and Finn and Puck were tolerable but beyond that everyone sucked. They would always make fun of Kurt for coming to the games, telling Blaine he was whipped. But every once in a while Blaine would glance up at the stands, beyond the group of swooning girls, and see Kurt waiting there patient as ever and he would know that Kurt was only there because of him; because he was his best friend. Blaine would come to every practice just to know that he still had Kurt to rely on.

Blaine's least favorite part of football practices was the locker room talk after. Half of the seventh graders tried to act like they were in high school and above everybody else. The topic of choice was always girls. Blaine couldn't stand it.

"Did you see that Quinn girl checking me out?"

"No way dude, she was looking at me."

"Whatever man." Finn and Puck continued their conversation but Blaine missed it because Mike started talking to him.

"Did you see Tina? She's really cute."

"Ya. I think you two would be good together."

"What about you, man? Did you see anybody cute out there?"

Blaine had spent the entire practice watching Kurt on the top row; he wasn't looking at the girls. But he can't just say that, what if Mike thinks he's weird?

"No, not really."

Mike and Blaine didn't know that Dave had been listening in. "Why not, Anderson? Santana seemed to have her eye on you."

"She's just uh… isn't my type."

"How would you know? You've never even kissed a girl to have a type. Or maybe you're sick like Hummel and like yourself a some boy?"

"Back off, Dave." Mike stepped between Blaine and Dave stopping a fight before it could begin.

"All I'm saying is that every day after practice we all talk about girls and Anderson never seems to chime in. There's got to be something going on there."

"Whatever." Mike grabbed Blaine by the arm and pulled him out of the locker rooms.

"Don't listen to him. He doesn't even know what he's talking about. You'll be my friend no matter what."

"Thanks. I'm just going to grab Kurt and head out. I'll see you Monday."

"Sure thing."

Blaine took a deep breath before turning the corner where he knew Kurt would be waiting for him. Every time Dave would say something about Kurt, Blaine would do his very best to make sure Kurt never found out. He went through enough in elementary school.

"You don't always have to protect me, you know?"

Apparently Blaine didn't hide it as well as he thought. "Of course I do. You're my best friend."

"I don't want to be a burden. I can stop coming to your practices. I'll just wait inside, or I'll ride the bus home."

"No. You can't keep letting Karofsky control your life, Kurt. Besides, I want you to come."

"But he scares me!" Kurt was more taken aback at his sudden outburst than Blaine was. "Well, I mean, not actually scare but-"

"Hey, stop it. It's okay to be scared; to be honest he scares me sometimes, too. I mean, for a twelve year old he's kind of huge. But that doesn't mean I stop coming to football. I don't stop doing the things I love because that just means he wins."

"Ya, I guess you're right." Kurt didn't believe a word Blaine just said.

"There's my mom, let's go."

That night after Tracy had gone to bed Kurt and Blaine stayed up talking quietly in Blaine's room.

"Kurt, can I ask you something?"

"Of course."

"How come we never talk about girls?"

Kurt felt himself freeze, "What do you mean?"

"Well, when we are in the locker room after practice every day the other guys are always talking about girls. It's like, all they can talk about. And you're my best friend so I guess it's just weird that we don't talk about it."

"Well," Kurt took a deep breath avoiding eye contact with Blaine, "I guess I don't ever talk about it because I don't have anything to say."

"But why don't you?"

"Because I'm not interested in any of the girls at school, Blaine. I don't see a point in talking about something when I don't have anything to say. If there is someone you're interested in though, I'll listen."

Blaine took a deep breath. He knew he had to ask, he just didn't want to. "Kurt, do you think you are?"

"Are what?"

"Gay."

When Kurt didn't answer right away Blaine began to worry. He didn't want to have insulted Kurt or over stepped any boundaries. "It's okay if you are; I'm not going to stop being your friend. It's just that, I guess the topic comes up a lot."

"I don't know." Kurt couldn't bring himself to look up at Blaine even though he could feel his eyes on him. "How am I supposed to know? I've never even had a first kiss. I'm not interested in any of the girls at school, but I don't go to the football practices to check out the guys either, you know?"

"Then why do you come?"

"For you." Kurt finally allowed himself to look up and meet Blaine's eyes. He was smiling back at Kurt which made him feel a little better.

"What about you? You don't seem to be interested in any of the girls at school either."

"I'm not. But like you said, how do you really know? I've never kissed anyone either."

"But, you wouldn't be mad if I was, right?"

"Of course not. You're my best friend. You're always going to be my best friend."

"Good, me too." Kurt let his smile reach his eyes which made Blaine blush and turn away.

Both of them had so much to think about. The room filled with a comfortable silence as both of them grew more and more tired. After a few moments they laid down on the bed waiting for sleep to take over.

"Goodnight, Kurt."

"Night, Blaine."

Blaine reached over and gave Kurt's hand one last little squeeze before closing his eyes.

Both boys tried so hard to ignore the butterflies that were flying in their stomachs.


	10. Chapter 9

Over the course of the next week things got both easier and harder for Blaine. For one thing, his dad wasn't supposed to come home until Sunday so him and Kurt got to hang out every day after school. They would sit at Blaine's kitchen table and work on their homework together. Most of their homework time consisted of Blaine asking Kurt questions he was too embarrassed to ask anyone else. But Kurt never judged Blaine; he understood that some people just need a little more help understanding certain topics.

Some nights Burt would even come over to the Andersons house and the four of them would have dinner together. Blaine absolutely loved those nights.

But things with the football team had not gotten any easier for Blaine. Dave would constantly harass Blaine about certain girls at practice and some of the other boys had even joined in on Dave's theory of Blaine being gay.

This is what wracked Blaine the most. He would spend his nights in his room hiding from everybody trying to clear out his thoughts. How was anybody supposed to know any of that until they fall in love? And his parents had never said anything to him about it. What if they were going to be angry? What if Cooper stopped talking to him? What if the people on the football team started bullying him?

The truth was that Blaine knew. Deep down he knew the answer but he couldn't bring himself to admit it. There were too many unanswered questions. Maybe he was just too young. Maybe he did just need his first kiss to figure it out.

Kurt worried about Blaine. He could see right through the fake smiles he put on all week. He could see how distant his eyes were sometimes. He could see how distraught he was every day after coming out of the locker rooms after practice. But Kurt wasn't worry free about himself, either.

Kurt, like Blaine, was so unsure of himself. His whole life people had been telling him he was different. People had always just assumed he was gay, including Burt. After his and Blaine's conversation on Friday he was more unsure than ever. At first, he thought that he was gay and just too scared to admit it, but if Blaine was having the same feelings then maybe what Kurt was feeling was normal. Maybe he was 'normal'.

Sure, he still got butterflies when Blaine would pat his knee while they were studying, and Blaine's smile was still special to him, but that's just how best friends are, right? Maybe Kurt had been mistaking a crush for a friendship this whole time. The only thing Kurt was sure of is that he and Blaine needed each other now more than ever, and they were going to figure this out.

Tom was so excited to surprise his family. It was Tracy's birthday on Sunday so he was planning on coming home from Michigan a day early. He had already called and changed his ticket and would be home in the early afternoon on Saturday; plenty of time to make dinner for everyone.

Blaine missed Cooper. He didn't come home nearly as much as he did last year. Blaine missed the nights the two of them would stay up late, without their parents knowing, and just talk. Sometimes Coop would even tell him about his girlfriend and about all the crushes he had growing up. Blaine wished Coop would be here right now. He needed his big brother to just listen and understand.

On nights like tonight, when Blaine was feeling particularly lost and confused, he would curl up on Cooper's bed and bury his face in the pillows. Even after two years they still smelled like him. He knew that this wasn't anywhere near the equivalent of getting advice, but just the thought of Coop was enough to calm Blaine a little; help him think rationally.

Blaine couldn't help but let the tears roll down onto the pillow. He knew twelve year olds weren't supposed to cry, but sometimes it's okay to cry; that's what Cooper would have told him at least. Blaine pulled the covers over his head and pulled his knees to his chest and began sobbing. He wished he could stay here like this forever; to always have something over him to protect him from the world, to act like his shield when things got hard and confusing. He wanted to stay under the covers and leave his thoughts above them. All Blaine really wanted was to go back to the simple days when the hard hitting questions were about having chicken nuggets or chicken patties. But nothing could protect Blaine from himself. This is who he was. Blaine was gay. He was gay.

The tears streamed faster from his eyes and his breath caught in his throat. All of the muscles in his body tightened while he tried to work passed the lump in his throat just to breathe again. He felt so alone. He had nobody to talk to, nobody to listen, nobody to just be there. The more he thought about the truth the harder he cried. Blaine forced his fist in his mouth to try and stop the wailing that came from his lungs. He knew his life would never be the same. His muscles began to shake uncontrollably and Blaine gave up the fight. All of the emotions flooded throughout him as he screamed into the pillow. He wasn't sure how long he cried before sleep took him over but it felt like an eternity had passed.

Burt sat Kurt down on the couch after dinner. "What's up, buddy?"

"What do you mean, dad?"

"Look, I may not be smart, but I ain't dumb either. I know something is bothering you."

Kurt looked down to his fidgeting fingers before taking a deep breath and looking up at Burt again. "Nothing's wrong, Dad. I swear."

Burt paused for a moment looking down at his son. "I don't believe you, you know that right? I know there is something going on here. I also know that when you're ready you will come to me; take your time." Burt patted Kurt on the shoulder and got up from the couch to go load the dirty dishes in the dishwasher.

Kurt quickly made his way to his room before his dad could see him crying. He wished he could tell his dad everything. Tell him about Dave and the bullying, and about Blaine's problem with the football team. Mostly, though, Kurt wanted to talk to his dad about his sexuality. He had so many questions now but asking them only made the situation seem real and scary. He was doing everything in his power to just forget about it. But who can forget the day they realize they're a freak? Kurt still remembers every word of what his father said when he was eight, but they haven't talked about it since. He was scared that his dad had just said that when he was little to lighten the mood. What if he thought differently now? Kurt couldn't tell Burt about Blaine being gay, and he had no right to know that Blaine was struggling with it. No, Kurt decided he needed to keep it all to himself. At least until Kurt and Blaine were both ready to talk about it.

As Kurt crawled into his bed that night he knew there would be no fighting off the monsters in his dreams. They would come just like they did every night that Blaine wasn't with him. Only tonight, the monster Kurt was scared of was himself.

Burt dropped Kurt off at the Andersons' on his way to work the next day. Tracy made the boys their usual lunch: blue box mac and cheese with celery sticks on the side for Kurt and hotdogs on the side for Blaine. After the kitchen was cleared Tracy left to go to the grocery store telling the boys she'd be back in an hour.

Once they were alone and up in Blaine's bedroom they could both finally say what was on their mind.

"Okay, Blaine, spill."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm not dumb. Look at you," Kurt waved his hand loosely at Blaine, "You look like a zombie. The last time you looked this bad was the day after Coop left or college. I know you well enough to know that something is going on. So spill."

Blaine was silent for a few moments shifting his eyes around the room. "Okay," he took a deep breath and turned so he was sitting cross legged on the bed facing Kurt, "Do you remember what we talked about last week?"

"About us being gay…. Or at least the possibility of it?" Kurt quickly corrected himself.

"Ya. That."

"Of course I do. I haven't stopped thinking about it. Why?"

Once again Blaine didn't answer right away. Instead, he sighed while he flopped backwards and pulled a pillow over his face. He could feel the tears welling up in his eyes again as he remembered spending half his night in tears on Cooper's bed trying to hide from himself. If there was any person that Blaine was willing to break down in front of it was Kurt.

They stayed like that for a while, both silently letting the other one remain in their own thoughts. Blaine only sat up when he felt Kurt intertwine their fingers. He pulled the pillow off his face looked up at Kurt through his tears.

"Whatever it is, Blaine. You can tell me."

Blaine smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. "You know that's not the issue, Kurt. I just… don't think I can say it."

"That you're gay?" Blaine immediately closed his eyes at the words as a fresh set of tears ran down his cheeks. All he could do was shrug his shoulders and shake his head.

Kurt immediately enveloped him into a hug, and Blaine tucked head face into Kurt's neck.

Kurt was the first to break the silence. "Me too." Blaine pulled back to look at his face, "Well, at least I think."

"You don't know?"

"How am I supposed to know? I'm only twelve. And I've never kissed anyone. I don't even know if I have ever really had feelings for anyone."

"How are we supposed to know what having feelings for someone is even like?"

"When we were little my dad told me that a crush should make you feel happy and it should be someone who cares about you. And I heard Tina and Rachel talking about how they get butterflies and are all nervous around boys; it's all they ever talk about."

"Did you dad ever say anything about you having a crush on… a boy though?"

"I think it was something along the lines of," Kurt put on the deepest voice he could to try and mimic his dad, "'it doesn't really matter, as long as they make you happy.' So he never really said specifically, I guess. I know that no matter if I am gay or not he'll still be my dad."

"So you think you are?"

"I told you, how am I supposed to know? There are so many missing pieces to the puzzle."

"Like a first kiss."

"Ya…" Kurt awkwardly started flattening out the comforter they had managed to mess up during their conversation.

"The boys in the locker room talk about kissing sometimes. I just, it seems so weird to me. That someone's lips touching yours is supposed to mean something. Aren't they just lips?"

"I've thought about that. I guess I just wonder what is so special about it that people make such a big deal, you know?"

"Ya." Blaine shifted his eyes up to Kurt; he thought about their relationship and how they had been through almost everything together. Blaine was there when Kurt lost his mom. He was there when Kurt was getting bullied. Kurt helped pull Blaine out of this dark place after they stopped being friends; he brought a smile back to his mom's face. Kurt meant so much to Blaine. He meant everything. Blaine needed Kurt to help him figure out what was going on; he needed Kurt to be the one person there when he knew for sure. "Do you want to find out?"

"Huh?" Kurt looked up from the bed and furrowed his eyebrows.

"I just…. You have always been there to… and if we just…" Blaine could feel the heat rushing to his neck and cheeks, "Nevermind. It was a stupid idea."

"Were you gonna suggest that we kiss?"

"Well… ya I was. But we don't have to. Just forget it."

Kurt sat staring at Blaine for a moment, "I want to."

Blaine pulled his head back so quickly he almost hit it against the wall behind him. "You what?"

"Well, you're right. We do everything together, so why not help each other out on this one, too?"

"Oh, okay."

Things got really awkward then. Neither of them wanted to be the first one to lean in, they didn't know which way they were supposed to turn their heads either. They just sat there for a few seconds too many before Blaine finally just went for it and pulled Kurt close to him and crashed their lips together.

It was a weird feeling. Just having their lips pressed up against each other's. Neither one made any movement; instead, they both sat there, Blaine with is hand on the back of Kurt's neck, Kurt with his hands wrapped together in his lap, in a chaste innocent kiss.

Both of their heads were so occupied and swirling trying to analyze the way this felt, the way their stomachs were both suddenly filled with a strange sensation, that neither of them heard the bedroom door open. However, when they heard a throat being cleared they both jumped apart from each other and turned towards the door. Blaine was sure his eyes popped out of his head.

"Dad?"


	11. Chapter 10

"Blaine?"

"Dad, what are you doing here?" Blaine stood up from the bed and took a few hesitant steps towards his father.

"I came home early to surprise you and your mom. What are you doing up here?" Tom looked between Blaine and Kurt.

"We were just-"

"Kissing." Tom spat the word in Kurt's direction.

"No-"

"Don't lie to me! I walked in on my son and another boy kissing!" Tom's tone forced Kurt to look down to his lap. "Don't you dare look away from me, boy." He started walking over to where Kurt was but Blaine stepped in front of him.

"Don't yell at Kurt like that. It's not his fault!"

"Don't you dare tell me who I can and can't yell at in my own house. I will yell at whoever I damn well please." Once again Tom turns his attention back to Kurt, "You need to leave. Get the hell out. Now!"

Kurt got up and began running towards the door but before he could make it all the way Blaine saw the tears begin to fill his eyes and grabbed his wrist to stop him.

"Wait, Kurt. Don't go."

"I- I" Kurt slumped his shoulders in defeat, "I'm sorry." He covered his face with his hands and ran out the door. The whole house was silent until they heard the front door slam shut.

"Explain yourself."

"It was nothing, Dad."

"Don't tell me it was nothing! You haven't seen that boy in years and suddenly I walk in on you kissing him?"

"THE KISS MEANT NOTHING!"

From the street, Kurt froze at Blaine's words with his phone in his hand. He looked up to the open bedroom window where he heard the yelling from. Instead of calling his dad to come pick him up Kurt put the phone back in his pocket and took off on foot. He wasn't sure where he was going; all he knew is that he needed to get away.

Up in Blaine's bedroom Tom took a deep breath and sat down on the bed to try and calm down before he said something he regretted. "How could it mean nothing? You were kissing a boy. You were kissing _Kurt_."

Blaine sat down on the edge of his bed and placed his head in his hands. This was his chance to come clean. He could tell his dad everything about Kurt and him being friends for years behind his back, his problems with the football team, him questioning his sexuality. He could finally have someone besides Kurt to ask questions to. He would know if his parents would accept him if he was gay. But then Blaine remembered the look on his dad's face when he had just walked in on him and Kurt. He could see how disappointed he was.

Blaine couldn't tell him; at least not about himself.

"I was just helping Kurt out. He came to me yesterday in school and asked if I could help him with something. And then when he came over today he told me that he thought he was gay but he wasn't sure. So, I offered to kiss him. I thought that maybe if he could kiss someone, a boy I mean, he would be able to figure it out. We may not be best friends anymore, Dad, but Kurt still means a lot to me." That wasn't a complete lie, but it was far from the truth.

"So it's all Kurt's fault."

"No!" Blaine realized he had thrown Kurt under the bus, "No. It was all my idea. I completely surprised him with the kiss."

"He didn't look too surprised when I walked in."

"Not everything is how it looks, Dad."

"But why _him_? He made all of our lives a living hell after his mom died, remember?"

"No, Dad," the words came spilling out of Blaine's mouth before he could stop them. "You made my life a living hell after Liz died." Blaine hadn't said Liz's name since she died. It felt weird coming out of his mouth but he mental filter wasn't working anymore. "You think I don't know about the fake phone calls to Burt? Or all the invitations to go to the Hummel's house that you turned down for me? I figured it out no thanks to you." Blaine was back on his feet now facing his father. "You know what? Kurt and I have been friends for years! That's right," Blaine watched his dad's eyes grow at his words, "You remember when Cooper used to bring me to my friend's house all the time? Kurt. You know the person who made me smile again? Kurt. You know the only person who has ever been there for me? Kurt. You're not the only one in this house who knows how to keep secrets." There was so much meaning behind his last sentence but Blaine couldn't let his dad see that side of him. Not now, maybe not ever.

Without another word Tom stood up and walked out of Blaine's room. He knew the argument was far from over but he just needed to get out before things turned ugly. Once safely behind his locked bedroom door, Tom let the tears he had been holding back go.

Kurt wasn't sure how long he had been running for or how far he had gone; all he knew is that he was sick and tired of crying. Over the past few weeks and even years he had spent so much time crying: Crying himself to sleep because of the things Dave would say, secretly crying in his room when Blaine's dad would come home from his business trips and they couldn't hang out, but most of all he cried when all he wanted was him mom and he couldn't have her.

Kurt sunk down next to a nearby tree and put his head between his legs. He felt dizzy and lightheaded and if it wasn't for the sure ground beneath him, he would have surely passed out.

It had been a little over five years since Liz had died and Kurt still had these moments, they were almost indescribable, but they were just moments when it would hit it that she was gone. He would remember her walking through the door and realize she would never do that. She wouldn't be there to take pictures for his prom, or his graduation. There would be no mother/son dance at his wedding or anyone for his kids to call grandma. He thought about how, at moments like this, all he wanted was to crawl into his mom's lap and cry like he was four years old again. He needed to feel her arms wrapped securely around him, and to hear her whispering "It's okay" and "I'm here" in his ear. Sometimes the memories he had of her just felt like a dream; like she had never really been there.

Kurt found himself thinking that his little boy self had imagined up this perfect person and manifested her in his mind to be his mom. But then he remembered the warm hugs, the soft kisses, and the smell of her perfume in the morning and he knows she was real. She was realer than real; she was his. What Kurt needed now more than ever was his Mommy. He needed to be coddled, and loved, and hugged, and protected from the world. He needed to be innocent again.

Kurt knew his legs couldn't carry him any further so he gave into himself and started sobbing against the tree willing himself to just disappear.

"You mean to tell me that you've known about that?" Tom's fist hit the table so hard that Tracy flinched away pulling Blaine closer.

"Yes, of course I knew, Tom." Her voice was barely audible over the ringing in Blaine's ears. "These boys, they're best friends. They mean everything to each other. I couldn't just break them apart."

"And the fact that I walked in on them kissing today means nothing to you?" He spat the words at Tracy while he threw his hands in the air.

"Of course it means something, Thomas! You think I'm just going to pretend that it's normal?"

Blaine felt his insides freeze as the word normal bounced in the now quiet room. He looked between and mom and dad while they glared at each other. Of course his parents would think a boy kissing a boy isn't normal. Of course they wouldn't accept Blaine if he told them the truth. He felt himself sinking further and further into this hole and he had just lost track of how to get back out. Before he knew what he was doing he was up and turning to run to his room.

"And where do you think you're going?"

"Anywhere but here." Blaine ran to his room and slammed the door.

"What has gotten into him, seriously?"

Tracy didn't let her gaze fall from the stairs, "He is just going through that teenager thing, you know?"

"He isn't technically a teenager yet."

"But he's always been mature for his age."

Tracy knew there was something more going on here; she could see it in Blaine's eyes. The way they glazed over as soon as they brought up the kiss or the way they would light up when they mentioned Kurt. There was defiantly more there. And she was going to figure out what.

"Well, I still want the old rule standing in this house. No Kurt."

"That was never a rule, Tom. You just stopped them from seeing each other. You think that if they can figure out how to get around that at 8 they won't do it again at 12? It's just going to get worse if you keep them apart. They're best friends. Think about this from their perspective; they've been through everything together. You don't see it, but I do. Kurt goes to every single one of Blaine's football practices; he is there on the weekends when you're too busy working. And Blaine has always been there for Kurt, after his mom died, after his dad starting picking up more hours at the shop. You can't just separate them."

"Well I don't want that boy coming near Blaine again. He's going to turn him gay. You and I both know it."

"And what if Blaine is gay, Tom? Have you ever stopped to think about that?"

"Of course I have. I don't want him to be gay. I want my son to be normal." At the serious topic change Tom sat down across the table from Tracy and kept his voice down so Blaine wouldn't be able to hear them.

"And what isn't normal about loving someone? Whether Blaine is gay or not is he still going to be our son. He is still going to need our love and support. If he is gay, Tom, figuring that out is going to be ten times harder for him than it will be for you. Are you telling me that you are going to have trouble with that?"

"Not even a minute ago you said that it wasn't normal for them to be kissing."

"Yes. It is not normal for Kurt and Blaine to be kissing because they have never kissed before. They are just friends. It isn't normal for friends to kiss friends. But if they ever became more then friends then fine, it would be normal. That's all I meant. I will love and I will cherish and I will be there for my son no matter what, and you should too."

"I just-" Tom took a long slow breath while he tried to gather his thoughts, "I just don't think I can."

The words took Tracy by surprise. At first she thought she had heard him wrong but after a moment of replaying them in her head she exhaled sharply and got up from the table.

"Well, you better work on that, Tom, because that is our son up there and if you can't love him no matter who he is then you don't deserve to call him your son."

Blaine heard the quiet knock on his door before it creaked open.

"Blaine, sweetie, can I come in?"

Sitting up, Blaine wiped the tears from his face looking up at his mother with pained eyes.

"Do you want me to call Burt and see if you can stay at their house tonight? I don't think you staying here would be the best idea right now. Your father needs some time to think and you and Kurt have a lot of talking to do."

"Do you really think it's that bad, Mom?"

"Do I think what's that bad, sweetie?" Tracy took a seat next to Blaine and wrapped her arms around his shoulder.

"That I kissed Kurt. Do you really think it's not normal?"

Tracy's breath hitched as she thought about what her words must have meant to Blaine.

"No, Blaine. No. No matter who you are or who you kiss… I don't care. I will love you. You are my son; my baby boy. I have watched you grow up for twelve years now, and do you really think who you like is going to change that?"

"But out there at the table you said-"

"I know what I said. And I'm sorry. That was a bad choice of words on my part. No matter what I love you, okay? Never forget that."

"Okay. I promise."

"Now, do you want me to call Burt?" Blaine took a moment to think before nodding up to his mom.

"Kurt and I we… need to talk, I guess."

"Blaine, sweetie…" Tracy wanted so badly to ask him. If Blaine really was trying to figure out his sexuality then Tracy wanted to be there; nobody should have to go through that alone. But then she thought about Kurt, Blaine will always have Kurt. If Blaine wanted her to know he would have come to her. "Nothing. I'll go call Burt."

"Mom, is everything going to be okay? With Dad?"

She tried to give a smile down to her son but he could tell it didn't reach her eyes. "He just needs time, sweetie."

"What if that's not enough? What if he never forgives me?"

"For kissing Kurt?"

Blaine worried his lip between his teeth wanting nothing more than to tell her everything. "Ya, about that."

Tracy pulled Blaine tightly into her arms just like when he was little. She wasn't sure when he had grown so much, or when things had become so complicated in his life. She wasn't ready to let go of his innocence yet. Even just a few more seconds of keeping Blaine safe and innocent would mean everything to her. "We'll figure it out, sweetie. We always do."

Eventually she got up and went to her bedroom to quickly call Burt while Blaine started to pack a small bag of overnight clothes. He would tell her. Someday he would sit her down and he would spill everything; about the locker rooms, about Dave bullying Kurt, about his feelings for Kurt. He would tell her someday; just not yet. For now he had to go talk to Kurt. He started to rehearse his speech to him. Something that explained the feeling he got when they kissed, or when he saw him walking down the hall, or when Kurt gave the special smile he only had for Blaine. He would tell him everything.

Far too quickly Tracy was back in Blaine's room with a panicked look on her face.

"What's wrong?"

"It's Kurt." She ran her hand through her hair still trying to process, "He's missing."


	12. Chapter 11

Kurt wandered down the vacant streets with panic rising in his chest. The sun was starting to go down and he knew that his chance of finding someone to help him was growing smaller and smaller. He tried to scream for help but he couldn't work past the lump in his throat. A part of him found it ironic that after living in the small town of Lima for twelve years he was still capable of becoming completely lost, but he had been in such a frenzy this afternoon that he couldn't even begin to remember how he had run to this neighborhood. He wasn't sure if his phone had died while he was curled up by the tree or if it was when he decided he needed to get up and walk around for a bit, either way he had no way of contacting his dad. Kurt wasn't even sure if his dad knew he was missing yet; for all he knew his dad was working happily at the shop thinking he was at the Anderson's and the Anderson's thought he was home safely with his dad. That thought brought on a whole new set of tears.

He remembered this one time when he was little and he was shopping with his mom and had gotten lost in the store. It only took a few short minutes for Liz to find Kurt but she gave him a helpful tip for if it ever happened again, "If you can't find me go to one of the big aisles, okay? Those are easier for mommy to see you in." Kurt wondered if it was the same concept now; get out of the little neighborhood streets and find a main road. There would be more cars going by and one would surely stop to help the twelve year old boy wandering by himself crying.

In about ten minutes Kurt found himself wandering down 12th Ave. He wasn't sure if he was heading toward home or further from it but at least there was a promise of someone finding him now. Eventually his tears subsided and all that was left was Kurt's panic of getting home. Some cars passed but never bothered to even slow down for him and each time that happened the knot in his stomach tightened a fraction more.

Just as the lump began to form in his throat again he heard a car honk from behind him. Kurt jumped on the sidewalk and turned to see his dad's truck pulling up to the curb and Burt quickly hopping out of the driver's seat.

"Kurt!"

"Daddy!"

Burt opened his arms as Kurt ran and jumped into them. It had been years since Kurt had called Burt daddy and the term took Burt by surprise. None the less, Kurt was safely back in Burt's arms and was crying onto his shoulder.

"Hey, bud." Burt set Kurt down on the sidewalk in front of him, and bent down placing his hands on Kurt's shoulders. "I was so worried about you. Why are you all the way out here? How come you ran away from the Andersons' like that?"

Kurt's eyes flashed down to his shoes. He knew he would have to tell his dad eventually, especially after the phone call from Mr. Anderson that he knew was coming.

"Dad, I have something I have to talk to you about."

"Alright, bud. Get in the car and we'll talk."

Kurt took a deep breath before opening the passenger door and climbing up into his seat. Burt placed his hand on Kurt's knee before pulling his truck away from the curb. Kurt closed his eyes one last time before letting go of his biggest secret.

"Dad… I think... I may be... gay."

"Okay…"

"That's it? You're not mad or ashamed or anything?"

Burt stopped his truck at the red light and turned to face Kurt. "I told you when you are little and I will tell you now: You can have a crush on, or like, or love anybody that you want; that's not going to change anything between us, bud. I will be there to love and support you through all your firsts. Your first date, your first kiss, your first love, your first heart break… no matter what it is you will always be able to come home to your old man and I will be there with open arms."

Kurt felt tears well up in his eyes for the hundredth time that day, but these tears were different. He wasn't scared, or alone, or feeling unwanted anymore; he was relieved. No matter what happened here on out with Blaine, no matter what Dave and the other boys at school said he would always have his dad there for him, and that meant more than anything else in the entire world.

"Thanks, Dad." That was all Kurt was able to choke out before the tears got the best of him. Burt wiped a tear from Kurt's cheek and patted him on the shoulder.

"Anytime." The light turned green and Burt started down the road again. "Kurt, this whole thing still doesn't explain why you are way the hell out here. You're supposed to be at Blaine's."

Kurt went silent again turning to face out his window. The action didn't go unnoticed by Burt.

"Did something happen over there today?"

Kurt took a deep breath, but refused to turn back towards Burt, "His dad came back a day early."

Burt's eyes grew for a moment before he tried to bring himself back to be there for his son. "And he wasn't too happy about seeing you again?"

"Well… it's more like he wasn't too happy to see me and Blaine kissing."

Burt's breath caught so quickly from Kurt's comment that he started coughing uncontrollably in his seat. Kurt flinched and sunk lower in his seat too afraid to turn and face his dad.

"You- what?" Burt managed to get his words out before getting his breath back.

"Dad, please don't be mad. I mean, I told you I _think _I might be gay but I'm not sure. How am I supposed to be sure? I'm only twelve. And I had never kissed anyone before. And I guess well…." Kurt finally turned to face Burt with a serious look on his face, "What I'm about you tell you… you can't bring up. Blaine would kill me if he knew that I told you this, okay?"

Burt nodded toward his son taking on the serious change of events.

"Well, Blaine is kind of struggling with the same thing. He doesn't know if he's gay or not either. So we both just sort of thought that… I guess we thought that if we were able to kiss someone, more specifically, kiss a _boy _then we would be able to know. You know?" Kurt looked down at his lap trying to avoid Burt's eyes again. "We kissed for just a few seconds before Mr. Anderson walked in and saw us. He got so mad, Dad. All of the sudden he was yelling at Blaine and I and telling me to get out of the house. Blaine tried to defend me, but there was nothing to defend me against. He saw what he saw." Kurt didn't realize he was crying again until a tear dropped to his jeans. Kurt ran his thumb over the wet spot before he continued. "I ran out of the front door and I was going to call you to come pick me up until I heard Blaine and his dad yelling." Kurt pulled his knees up to his chest and hid his face.

"What were they saying, Kurt?"

"Blaine said the kiss didn't mean anything." Kurt's voice was muffled against his jeans. He brought his hand up to wipe the tears from his cheeks again still hiding from his dad's eyes.

"But it meant something to you?"

Kurt hesitated again before he spoke, "Well, ya, it did. I mean, it was my first kiss, right? And it may not have been fireworks flying all over and Mr. Anderson may have walked in on it, but it was still special. Up until he walked in it just felt… right. Is that crazy?"

Kurt finally met Burt's eyes as he pulled into the driveway and put the car in park.

"That's not crazy at all. You and Blaine have a special connection; you always have."

"So, it's okay for me to have a crush on him? Even if he doesn't feel the same way about me?"

"Honestly? I'd be surprised if you didn't." Kurt crawled across the seat into his dad's lap and gave him a hug. "Hey, bud?"

"Ya?"

"Don't write Blaine off just yet. He may have said that but it doesn't mean that he meant it. Sometimes, when we're in sticky situations like Blaine was with his dad they say things they don't mean. Give him a chance, okay?" Kurt nodded before wrapping his arms around his dad again. "But at the same time, bud, don't force it. You are one of the most confident people I have ever met. You know who you are, and even when you don't you figure it out pretty quickly. Not everyone is so lucky. I think it's fantastic that you have figured yourself out. I am so proud of you for that, but it might not be as easy for Blaine." Burt pulled Kurt back so he was looking in his eyes, "He may have a hard time with it. His family might affect things and change things and we are just going to have to sit back and see what happens, okay?"

"Okay, Dad."

"You promise, buddy?"

"I promise, Dad. Besides, I don't think I'll be seeing Blaine for a while. His dad seemed pretty angry."

"I wouldn't be so sure. I need to go inside and call Tracy and tell her that I found you. Then Blaine should be over."

"Are you serious?" Kurt looked up at Burt with wide eyes.

"Ya, she said that her and Tom needed some time to talk about things so she was going to have him over here. I guess I understand what they need to talk about now."

Burt opened his door and Kurt hopped out into the garage with Burt trailing closely behind him.

"Is everything going to be okay with his Dad?"

"I think so." Burt hoped so at least, "It will take some time but I think he'll come around."

Kurt had never seen Blaine looking more nervous than he did when he was waiting on the front porch to be let into the Hummel's house.

"Hi." Blaine looked up shyly to Kurt. Without a moment of hesitation Kurt flung his arms around Blaine and pulled his close.

"Are you okay? Did your dad do anything bad? What's going to happen?" Kurt pushed Blaine to an arm's length away and was shaking him by his shoulders. Burt walked up behind Kurt and put his hand on his arm.

"Whoa, don't break him. Why don't you help him bring his stuff to your room and then you two can talk, alright?" Blaine got a panicked look on his face and looked up to Burt, "Yes, Kurt told me about this afternoon. But relax, kid, I'm not mad."

"Oh," Blaine blinked a few times trying to let that settle, "Thanks, Burt."

Kurt let Blaine in and the two of them started walking up to Kurt's room. Burt quickly grabbed Kurt before he got too far away, "Remember what I said. Take it slow; let him get things figured out, okay?"

"Got it, Dad."

Burt watched the boys disappear into Kurt's bedroom before he turned and went back to the kitchen to cook dinner.

"So what happened after I left?" Kurt sat cross legged across from Blaine on his bed. They sat a little further than usual for fear of what the other might think if they closed the space.

"He was really mad, obviously. He asked me why I did it."

"Did you tell him?"

"No. I told him that…" Blaine couldn't decide between lying again or finally telling the truth, "I told him I did it to help you, but that it was entirely my idea. I just couldn't tell him yet, Kurt. Please don't be mad."

"Hey," Kurt reached across the bed and placed his hand in Blaine's, "I'm not mad. I wish you would have told him because I think he really could have helped you, but if you aren't ready to tell your parents then that's fine."

"But you told your dad? About… maybe being gay?"

"I did. It wasn't easy to explain, but he actually seemed pretty cool with it. Almost like he was expecting it."

"Really? Even after you told him about our kiss?"

"Ya. He was fine. I mean, he wasn't jumping up and down and doing cartwheels about it but he seems supportive. He said that he would love me no matter what."

"Wow." Blaine went silent for a while just looking down at their intertwined fingers. "That's awesome, Kurt."

They both sat there in silence for a few more minutes; Kurt wanted to give Blaine all the time he needed to process his day. He was surprised when Blaine was the one to break the silence.

"Did it help you at all?"

"Did what help me? Telling my dad?"

"No, the kiss. Did it help you figure anything out?"

Kurt was stuck. He wanted to tell Blaine the truth that it really did help him figure things out but what if Blaine thought that was weird. What if Blaine thought the kiss was gross or strange or it did nothing for him? Would he look at Kurt differently?

"That's okay if it didn't." Blaine said after growing nervous from Kurt's silence, "I was just curious I guess because it helped me."

"Really?"

"Ya."

"It helped me, too." The silence grew again.

"What did you decide?" Blaine looked hopefully into Kurt's eyes.

"Well, I mean…. Even though your dad walked in on us and it ended badly and it seemed a little strange and I guess I don't know what you thought but I guess maybe-"

"Kurt, you're rambling."

"Right, sorry." Kurt took a deep breath before closing his eyes. "There was something about it that just felt… right. You know? So, I guess that makes me… gay." Kurt whispered the last word thinking that maybe if he kept it quiet it wouldn't be true.

Blaine squeezed Kurt's hand forcing him to open his eyes and look at Blaine. He wore a small smile on his face. "Me too. Right before my dad walked in I really… liked kissing you. I got all these butterflies and…"

"Really?"

"Ya. But, I'm not ready to tell my parents just yet. I think I want to figure this whole thing out first. So, can we keep this just between you and I?"

"And my dad? He basically already knows."

"He won't tell my parents, will he?"

"No. He's really good about that kind of stuff. He'll understand."

"Then, ya. He can know, too."

Later that night Burt got up to use the restroom when he noticed a light on in the kitchen downstairs. When he went down to turn it off he was surprised to find Blaine sitting at the kitchen table crying.

"Hey, kiddo, what's wrong?" Burt pulled out the chair next to Blaine and watched as he frantically tried to wipe the tears that ran down his cheeks.

"Nothing. Sorry I woke you."

"Hey. Cut the crap and tell me what's happening."

Blaine turned to look at Burt as a fresh set of tears pooled over. "I'm just so scared. I'm scared of my parents and what they will think of me. I'm scared of the kids at school and the things they will say about me. I'm scared of being different. I just want to be normal."

"You are normal, Blaine, and don't ever let anyone tell you any different. You got that?" Blaine nodded. "Now you listen to me. I don't talk to you dad much anymore but I do know your mom pretty well and I know that you could come home confessing your love for a pillow and she would stand behind your 100%. She loves you, kiddo, for exactly who you are. Whether you grow to be six foot ten or stay the size you are now, whether you decided to only eat Twinkies and gain hundreds of pounds, and whether you like girls or boys your mother is going to love you with all of her heart. She is your mom and nothing you do is ever going to change that. Your only job is to be who you are, okay? And if things get rough at home then you come stay at my house. I may not be your real father but you will always be like a son to me. You are as much a part of my life and this family as Kurt is."

"Do you think I'm a coward, though? For not wanting to tell my parents just yet?"

"Of course not. You need to do things on your own time. Kurt just so happened to be ready to tell me about everything today, that doesn't mean you have to be. You are your own person and I know this is a lot to take in and have going on as a twelve year old and that's why you need to know that Kurt and I will always be here. We are your family."

Blaine smiled up and Burt before getting up and wrapping his arms around his neck. "Thank you, Burt. For everything. Kurt's really lucky to have you for a dad."

"And Kurt's really lucky to have you for a friend. Now go off to bed. I have a feeling you're going to have a very long day tomorrow and you're going to need your sleep."

"Goodnight, Burt."

"Goonight, kiddo. Sweet dreams."

And for the first time in a long time Blaine went to bed feeling that tomorrow might just be a little better than today.


	13. Chapter 12

Sunday was spent in an uncomfortable silence at the Hummel house. Kurt and Blaine sat on the couch doing homework and watching movies while Burt cooked them food and paced around in the background. The phone rang three different times that day and each time it felt like the air stopped circulating and all three of them held their breath, but the call was never from the Anderson house. Burt had agreed to keep Blaine until Tracy and Tom sorted things out so there was no question when night time rolled around if Blaine would stay another night. Burt tucked them in early being that they had such a long day and went back to the couch.

Things at the Anderson house were not much different. Tracy wanted to give Tom as much time as he needed but when night time fell and there had been no conversation between the two of them she thought she was going to explode. In the kitchen she finished up her pot of tea before pouring two glasses and going into the living room.

"He's gay, isn't he?" Tracy handed Tom his tea with a confused look on her face before sitting next to him on the couch. "I mean there is no hope of him being straight. Even if he hasn't come out to us, even if he doesn't know yet, he is gay. There are no if, ands, or buts about it. Our son is gay."

"I think that's a pretty safe bet to put your money on."

Tom let out a frustrated groan before picking up a magazine on their coffee table and started reading it. On the side of the couch Tracy rolled her eyes before pulling the magazine from Tom's hands and throwing it onto the table.

"You can't avoid this conversation forever, you know that right? We're going to have to talk about it."

"What do you want me to say, Tracy? That I'm okay with it? Because I'm not. And I know that I should be and believe me I have spent all day trying. I just can't."

"Why not, Tom? What about it is so wrong?" Tracy set her mug down on the coffee table and turned to face Tom completely, "I've spent all day wondering why it is taking you all day to figure this out, so let me help you. Tell me what is bothering you and we can work through it."

"I just love him too much!" Tracy jumped back at the sudden volume of Tom's voice. "I love, Blaine. I love taking him to the park and playing football with him. I love watching Sunday Night Football with him in the living room. I love taking him to the batting cages or go-kart racing. I love taking to the baseball games when I get the tickets from work. Splitting a bag of sunflower seeds, sitting back, smelling the freshly cut grass, and hearing the pop of the baseball bat. I love that and I don't want any of that to be different. I don't want Blaine to stop wanting those things, too. I was so looking forward to all the times I would sit down with Blaine and have to give him girl advice; or the first time he told us about getting kissed. Blaine being gay is going to change all of that. He isn't going to want to do boy stuff anymore and I don't want that for him. I want him to go to the baseball games and fit in with everyone else. He can't be different because then he won't be Blaine. And I just love who Blaine is." Tom finally looked up from his lap to find Tracy's eyes. They were darker than he had ever seen.

"If you really love Blaine then you have an awful way of showing it. Did you hear what you just said? You can't accept your own son because you don't want to suffer through him being different. How do you think he is feeling? Do you think he wants to be different or ridiculed? I would bet my life that he doesn't. What Blaine is going to go through with the kids at school and the random strangers in this town is not going to be easy, and at the end of the day he is going to want to come home to a house that accepts him and loves him for exactly who he is. Nothing is going to change with Blaine. Do you even know what being gay means, Tom? Because I'm starting to think that you don't. Let me lay it all out for you: being gay means that a boy likes other boys. It's that simple. There is nothing about him not wanting to play football or go to baseball games with his dad. The Blaine that you took to those games this summer is the same Blaine that is at the Hummel's house right now probably scared out of his mind. You just happen to know a little more information about him. He is still going to have dating and relationship questions, he is still going to have his heart broken, he is still your son. He is still a boy and his interest in sports and cars and whatever else you two like to talk about isn't going to change." Tracy sat up a little straighter and looked Tom square in the eyes, "My son is coming home tomorrow after school and if you can't handle that or if you can't accept that or if you even have the tiniest bit of doubt about our son still then you better call an emergency business trip to somewhere far far away because you will not be welcomed back into this house until you can learn to love you son for who he is. Am I clear?"

Tracy didn't even wait for her husband to answer before she grabbed her mug off the table and went upstairs to their bedroom locking the door behind her.

Kurt and Blaine both laid silently letting the other one get lost in their thoughts. After they both figured out that sleep was not going to come easily tonight Kurt broke the silence.

"Are you scared?"

Blaine was silent for a few moments before taking a deep breath, "Wouldn't you be? If your parents sent you away for kissing someone else and then didn't call for two day, wouldn't you be scared?"

Kurt rolled onto his side to face Blaine, "I'm sorry."

"You don't have to be sorry, Kurt-"

"No. I'm not… well I am sorry that this is happening with your parents but I'm sorry for pulling away from you after my mom died." Blaine turned to mirror Kurt with his eyebrows furrowed. "We made a promise to each other that after… it happened we would be there for each other, and then when it finally came I broke that promise. I wouldn't let you keep that promise, and by the time I realized that it was too late. Your dad already thought I was hurting you and he pulled you away. Everything that happened is my fault and I am so sorry. Maybe things at home would be different now if I hadn't done that."

"Kurt, where is this coming from?"

"I'm scared." Kurt hid his face in his pillow making his words barely audible. "I don't want you to make the same mistake I did; I don't want you to pull away from me right now. I don't know if things at your house are going to get any easier but I want to be there for you. You're my best friend. I don't want you to have to go through this alone; I don't think I can go through this alone. I want to make that promise again, but actually keep it this time. I am going to be there for you, Blaine. I-"

"Stop. Of course I will promise you that again, but what happened when we were younger wasn't your fault. I get it, okay? Things were hard and you were scared and I'm sure you were just… I can't even imagine what you were going through. I don't blame you and you shouldn't blame yourself. It was my dad's fault, okay?" Kurt nodded before turning back to face Blaine. "I fought for our friendship like my life depended on it back then. I kicked and I screamed and I did everything I could and I'm going to do that now. If my dad says we can't be friends then I will fight. I'm not losing you again."

"And I'll be right there by your side."

The boys smiled at each other before turning on their backs to face the ceiling. "Why are you making it seem like I'm the only one going through something? I know your dad accepts you, and me I guess, but like, I know my home life isn't great right now because of it but this has been a big weekend for you too. Aren't you scared of the fact that you are gay? Aren't you afraid of what's going to happen? I mean, Dave hasn't been easy on you, already and now it's just going to get worse."

"Just because I came out to my dad and to you doesn't mean I have to come out at school. I'm not ready for that. Ya, I'm scared, but I know that I can come out to them on my own time. Besides, I have you by my side; that makes everything a whole lot better."

Blaine smiled even though Kurt wasn't looking, "So, we can just keep this between us? Nothing at school has to change?"

"Of course. I think we both know that it is going to hell when people start to find out. Why not keep our innocence for as long as we can?"

"Thank you. I don't know what I would do without you."

"Well we've been there before and it wasn't pretty."

Blaine laughed lightly before going silent. Right before Blaine fell asleep he felt Kurt's hand slip into his.

"I don't know what is going to come in the future, Blaine, but I couldn't have asked for a better best friend."

"Me either, Kurt."

"Goodnight."

"Sweet dreams."


	14. Chapter 13

As much as he had willed it not to be, things at school were different. Kurt had spent so much time trying to hide himself from the world that he never came to think about what it would be like when he finally figured out who he was. None of the other kids knew, besides Blaine, and they didn't ridicule him any more than usual but now everything had a different meaning to Kurt. The stares and the harsh words and the random shoves meant something different. They weren't something that Kurt could defend himself against; they were the honest to goodness opinions of his classmates about who he was. No denying it.

Every time someone would whisper homo behind his back it cut just a little deeper. The shoves into the lockers became a little more personal because he knew that's all they thought he was worth. If seventh grade was beginning to become a nightmare Kurt didn't even want to imagine what the rest of his life was going to look like. Kurt had always known that he wanted to go to New York but today was the day he decided that it was more than just a dream; it was a plan for his life.

By lunch time on Monday Blaine thought he was going to lose his mind. He still hadn't heard from his parents, his football gear was left at home so he had to tell his coach he wasn't prepared, and he was sweating from trying to avoid the eyes of all the other students. He felt like they could see right into him and they knew everything about him. Blaine wasn't sure how Kurt did this every day; nobody even knew that he was gay, or even questioning for that matter, and he still felt the wrath of the student body as if he were only holding onto this shield by a thread. Each time he heard a whisper behind him he ducked his head and turned to see if they were talking about him, each time a locker slammed he flinched remembering Kurt's stories about being slammed before. People had always made it seem like life would get easier after you come to terms with yourself, like that is the hardest part, but Blaine had to disagree. Living in constant fear of people's ignorance was far worse.

Kurt and Blaine walked to class together in silence taking their respective seats on the other side of the room from each other. That was one thing that Kurt loved about their friendship, they didn't have to constantly be talking with each other to be there as support. Each boy knew that the other was having just as hard of a time so their silence actually became reassuring; if only the rest of the world could figure that out. But instead the rest of the class filed in nosier than ever. Every few people would give Blaine a friendly slap on the back that made him flinch or yell his name across the room. Dave walked in and immediately shoved Kurt a little not wasting any of the precious hour of class they had together.

"'Sup, fag?"

"Leave him alone, Dave." Blaine's eyes barely flashed up to meet Dave's before they went back to being planted on his desk.

"What's up with you lately, Anderson?" Dave slammed his book down on Blaine's desk making him flinch, "You've gotten super defensive. You better be careful or ladyboy here might think you have a crush on him. You better keep your distance before you catch a case of the fag, too."

"You know what Karofsky?" Blaine stood up as she shoved Dave's book off of his desk. Their faces were just inches from each other. "I'm done with you. You have this obsession with bullying Kurt through me and I'm sick of it. I just-"

"Is there a problem boys?" Mrs. Liberko walked into the room and placed a hand on Dave's back.

"No, ma'am." Blaine huffed in Dave's face before he grabbed his bag and walked out the door. From across the room Kurt stood up to go after him before Mrs. Liberko turned to face him.

"What's going on here, Kurt?"

"Umm… I'm not exactly sure. Can I go check on him?"

"Of course. I'll call the office and tell them you're out on an excuse, for both of you."

Kurt knew he always liked Mrs. Liberko for a reason. She was one of the few teachers at their middle school who didn't hold him to a different standard. Sometimes it even seemed like she gave him special treatment because she saw what he went through in the halls.

"Thanks. I'll be back." And with that Kurt grabbed his bag and ran out into the hallway.

Either way he looked when he got outside the room, though, the halls were bare. Kurt frantically tried to think of a place that Blaine would go but the locker room was the only thing that came to mind and he knew that Blaine hated it in there.

Kurt wandered aimlessly through the halls trying to find Blaine until he found himself in the performing arts part of the school. He stopped off in the bathroom when he heard Blaine crying in one of the stalls. Before he said anything Kurt walked over and locked the door to the bathroom.

"Blaine, you need to come out of there."

"I don't get it, Kurt. Why is it such a bad thing, huh? Why does Dave continue to use you to get to me? Just-" Kurt flinched when Blaine began to scream at the top of his lungs. It wasn't a scream of terror or fear, but just a way for Blaine to take the emotions he couldn't put words to and let them out for the world to hear.

Both of the boys were silent for a few moments after that until Kurt heard the click of the lock on the bathroom stall and Blaine was slowly coming out. His eyes were red and puffy and his hair was a complete mess from all the times he had ran his hands through it.

"Why do you get it so easy?" Blaine's tone wasn't hurtful, he was genuinely curious.

"Because I made myself invisible." Kurt took Blaine's hand and pulled him over to the wall where they both slid down until their knees were at their chests. "You have to remember that this has been going on since we were eight, Blaine. I've had four years to get used to hearing all the things they say about me. It still hurts, but I don't let them see that. Dave used to say all his insults directly at me instead of using my friends but eventually I stopped showing him my pain and he got bored, I guess. Bullies only go after people who will give them a reaction. They need to be able to see that their words are affecting you, so if you don't give that to them then they suddenly have a lot less to say."

"But you shouldn't have to get used to it, Kurt."

"But I do. That's just the way things are in this place. You have to, too. It's not going to stop, the bullying I mean. There are always going to be people who disagree with us and what we are."

"But they don't even know."

"That doesn't matter. People pass judgment on other people the second they see them. We just have to prove them all wrong. Show them that we are worth something." Kurt squeezed Blaine's hand forcing him to look up from his lap.

"How do you always manage to make me feel better?" Blaine wiped away the last of his tears from his cheeks and rested his head on Kurt's shoulder. "Do you ever just wish we could have our own little world where no one can touch us?"

"We've been pretending that since we were little."

"No, but I'm serious." Blaine sat up and turned to face Kurt, "What if there was a place we could just go and be best friends and no one would ever hurt either of us."

"New York." The words came out of Kurt's mouth before he could stop them, and his cheeks turned bright red.

"What?"

"New York is that dream place for me. I hear that Times Square is just amazing. I want to go there one day. I want to live there."

"We'll go together. Two best friends taking on the world."

Kurt smiled up at Blaine. "I wouldn't want it any other way."

Before Blaine could say anything else his phone started to vibrate in his pocket. He pulled it out quickly and saw his mom's number flash across the screen.

"Hello?" His sudden shaking was evident in his voice. Kurt sat up a little straighter waiting to hear what was about to happen.

"Yea…. Okay…. Uh huh…. Sounds good….. See you then." Blaine hung up and stared at his phone for a few minutes.

"What'd she want? Is everything okay?" Kurt couldn't wait for Blaine any longer.

"She said she was going to pick me up after school and take me home. She talked to coach and everything to get me excused from practice."

"That's good, right?"

"I don't know." If Blaine could fall any more to the ground he would have. Suddenly the events of the day were getting to be a little too much. "She didn't say anything about my dad. She kept saying 'I' so I guess we will have to see?"

"Okay. Well I'm always here if you need me."

"What would I do without you?"

"That's what friends are for."

Eventually the boys got up and wiped off their pants from the gross floor. Blaine checked himself in the mirror to make sure no one could tell he was crying before they walked back into class together.

When his last class ended Blaine was in no hurry to get outside to the parking lot. His stomach was in knots and he was pretty sure that if he walked too fast he was going to throw up. By the time he packed up and got out of the classroom Kurt was there waiting for him.

"Are you ready for this?"

"I don't really have a choice, do I?"

"Not really. Just make sure you call me later, okay? I'm going to be a nervous wreck until I hear from you."

"Sounds good. I'll see ya later."

Blaine gave Kurt a quick hug before walking off to the parking lot to find his mom's car. She was in about the third row back parked reading some sort of magazine while she waited for him. The entire walk to the car Blaine had to remind himself to breathe. If anything went wrong he knew that he could always go stay at the Hummel's house.

When Tracy looked up from reading a smile stretched across her face. Blaine's heart slowed down only for a second before he realized that she was the only one in the car; his dad hadn't joined her to come get Blaine.

"Hey, sweetie."

"Hi." There was an awkward silence that last several uncomfortable minutes before Blaine had to break it. "Where's Dad at?"

"Well, there's something I need to talk to you about."

"What's going on, mom?"

Tracy stayed quiet until they pulled in their driveway and got inside. She got Blaine a glass of chocolate milk and sat him down at the kitchen table.

"Obviously, your father and I didn't call Burt and pick you up yesterday."

"Ya, I kinda figured that much out."

"Well…" Tracy began to fiddle with her fingers on the table, "There really isn't an easy way for me to say this so I am just going to come on out with it. Your father is really struggling with what he walked in on you and Kurt doing."

For a moment Blaine had forgotten that he hadn't come out to his parents. He had been so worried about hiding what had happened over with weekend with his classmates that he never even thought about the fact that he couldn't be himself at home, either.

"And, what does he think?" Blaine stared his mom straight in the eyes. He thought maybe that was the best way to get the truth from her without beating around the bush.

"He, actually we, neither of us really know what it means. And I'm not going to make you tell us because I understand that it can be confusing and hard to deal with, but your father was not pleased at all. I told him that if he had a problem with what he saw he could schedule some business trips and come home when he was ready. He was gone when I woke up this morning."

"I see." Blaine went silent trying to take in the information. His dad literally left his house because of Blaine. Nobody could lay the blame on anybody else; this was entirely his fault. "And what about you? What do you think?"

"Well, like I said, I'm not going to make you tell me or us anything. If there is something that you need to figure out about yourself then you need to do that for you. I can't help you decide, but I can be here for you. Blaine," Tracy reached across the table and took Blaine's hand, "I don't ever want you to feel like you can't talk to me. No matter what the issue is I am your mom and I love you no matter what. I don't want you to feel ashamed of anything, not around me alright?"

The lump in Blaine's throat stopped him from answering verbally so he just nodded his head. Blaine's watery eyes didn't go unnoticed by Tracy. She let him sit in silence while she rubbed her hand over his on the table. Blaine's eyes wandered all over the place: his dad was in some city pretending that his life was going on as usual, and probably pretending that Blaine didn't exist. Kurt was at home waiting anxiously by his phone for him to call about what he was talking to his mom about. Blaine couldn't stop himself from thinking about Saturday afternoon with Kurt upstairs in his bedroom. He remembered what it felt like to have Kurt's face leaning in towards his, or how warm his lips felt against his own.

"It was amazing, mom."

Of all the things Blaine could have said in that moment, Tracy was not expecting that. "What was amazing, sweetheart?"

"The kiss. When Kurt kissed me. I got these butterflies in my stomach and I felt like my brain was suddenly in the clouds and like… my stomach twisted and it made me feel a little sick, but, like, in a good way. Is that crazy? Am I losing my mind?"

"Lovesick. That's why they call it that." Tracy smiled at her youngest son trying to figure out when he had grown up and fallen in love with someone. Even if he didn't know it yet Tracy could see it in his eyes when he was talking just now. He was in love.

"So that's normal? Those things I am feeling are actual feelings for Kurt? Not just because he is my best friend?"

"I think the person you are in a relationship with is your best friend, Blaine." Tracy watched as Blaine's eyes grew at her words.

"I'm not in a relationship with Kurt, Mom. I don't want a relationship right now. I just found out that I'm…"

"Gay?"

"Ya, that." Tracy stood up and pulled Blaine into a tight hug.

"You don't have to be ashamed. Not around me. I love you no matter what. In fact," Tracy pulled back and took Blaine's shoulders, "Do you want to know a secret?" Blaine nodded. "When you were little and you and Kurt had just met, Liz and I would spend our days at the park watching you play wondering if you two would end up together."

"Mom, are you serious?"

"We wanted it so badly. Liz would be so happy if she could hear what you just said about Kurt."

Blaine pulled Tracy into a close hug again. "Thanks. That really makes me feel better, but please don't be mad if I don't start a relationship with Kurt for a while. I know he isn't ready and I know I'm nowhere near ready to start dating anyone. We both decided that we aren't going to tell anyone at school or anything. Only Burt and you know."

"I completely understand. It will be our little secret."

Tracy and Blaine talked for a while longer about Blaine and what he had been going through. He told her about how hard he had struggled with it and how he wished Cooper had been home to talk to. During their conversation Blaine realized he could never really pinpoint an exact moment as to when he started questioning things himself… it had always just been Kurt there by his side.

Eventually Tracy let Blaine go call Kurt so that the Hummels could rest easy. As Blaine stuck the ringing phone to his ear he couldn't help but let a smile spread across his face when he thought about being able to talk to Kurt. Everything was going to be just fine.


	15. Chapter 14

By Friday night Tom was still not home. He had called a few times to check in with Tracy but he didn't want to talk to Blaine. Kurt wanted to help distract him so he decided that the two of them were going to have their first official movie night. There were plenty of weekends in the past that they would spend watching movies together, but Kurt wanted to make this one special. While Blaine was at practice on Friday, Kurt and Burt went to the grocery store and got popcorn and Blaine's favorite type of candy: Twix.

When Blaine got there nothing was out of the ordinary. Burt had made them mac n cheese for dinner and then Kurt and Blaine went into the living room to watch their first movie while Burt went into the office.

"Which one do you want to watch first?"

"How about Singin' In The Rain?"

"Sure!" Kurt happily popped the disc in the DVD player and went to sit next to Blaine on the couch. There was a good inch or two between the boys and Blaine was particularly aware of this. As the movie got into the plot Kurt settled into the couch a little more and the space between them closed. Their legs were pressed up against each other and their shoulders would brush every time either one of them moved. Blaine felt the butterflies in his stomach start.

Kurt had his hand sitting on his thigh and Blaine couldn't remember if that's how he always sat or not. All he knew is that he really wanted to reach over and take Kurt's hand, which, on any night before this week would have been a normal gesture between the two of them, but now it felt almost too intimate. Blaine couldn't stop running his mom's words through his head about how they were so good for each other and would be good together.

Blaine decided to just go for it. He was going to reach over and take Kurt's hand. He began counting down from seven in his head but when he got to zero his hand didn't move like he had planned. Blaine counted down three more times before Kurt was the only to reach over and take Blaine's hand. He looked over and Kurt was smiling up at him. Blaine relaxed and twisted to lay back into the corner of the couch never letting go of Kurt's hand.

After a few minutes Kurt let go and leaned back against Blaine using his shoulder as a pillow.

"Are you okay like this?"

"Ya. I'm fine." Blaine kept hoping that Kurt wouldn't be able to hear how fast his heart was pounding. He could feel his palms sweating but didn't want to start wiping them off in front of Kurt, so he sneakily found a way to use the blanket on the back of the couch to wipe them off before he reached back down for Kurt's hand.

Although he didn't turn to look at him again, he could tell that Kurt was smiling again. Blaine barely paid any attention to the rest of the movie because he felt like his senses were in a heightened state instantly noticing how it felt each time Kurt would brush his thumb over his knuckles, or each time Kurt would move a little and be touching Blaine just a tad more.

By the end of the movie Kurt had moved and adjusted so many times that he was completely on his side resting his head on Blaine's chest. Their intertwined fingers lay on the other side of Blaine so Kurt's arm was draped over his waist. At some point towards the end of the movie Kurt's eyes had closed and he fell asleep.

Even though the credits started rolling Blaine didn't get up to change the movie. He smiled down and Kurt and gently started to run his fingers through Kurt's hair. It was a lot softer than it looked, and he was lucky Kurt was asleep or his hand would have been slapped away for messing it all up. Eventually, Blaine felt his eyes grow heavy. He couldn't even open them again after he blinked, and soon he was asleep too.

Burt went into the living room to tell Blaine his mom was there to pick him up when he saw them on the couch together. They had shifted so they were lying next to each other, although, Kurt still had his face tucked where Blaine's shoulder and neck met. The boys had had plenty of sleepovers before but Burt had never seen them look so intimate yet natural, like they were meant to be together like this. Before Burt woke them up he ran to the kitchen and grabbed the camera out of the drawer and snapped a quick picture of them. When they're older, whether they're together or not, they would each want a copy of that photo. But for now Burt wouldn't tell them that he took it; there was too much risk putting that sort of pressure on them to be together.

Burt knelt down next to the couch and gave Blaine's shoulder a gentle shake. He heard the quick inhale of breath before his eyes slowly popped open. Blaine looked over at Kurt sleeping next to him and smiled before he even realized that Burt was right there watching him.

"Hey, kiddo, your mom is here to pick you up."

"Okay, let me just get my stuff." Blaine felt awkward trying to get out from under Kurt's arm without waking him while Burt watched, but he didn't really have a choice. Just as Blaine got out Kurt began to stir and woke up just to time to see the Burt and Blaine walking towards the front door.

"Wait."

They turned around and Blaine met Kurt's eyes. "Um… thanks for coming over."

"Of course." Blaine looked up at Burt, "Thanks for having me, Burt."

"You know you're always welcome around here, kid."

Kurt walked up to Blaine and pulled him into an awkward hug before he turned and started towards his bedroom.

After Blaine had left with him mom Burt went upstairs to talk to Kurt. He knocked lightly on his bedroom door and entered when he heard Kurt's welcome.

"Did you and Blaine have fun tonight?"

"I fell asleep during the movie, but I would think so. Thanks for everything today, Dad."

"No problem." Burt sat down on the edge of Kurt's bed and looked over and him sheepishly. Kurt caught on straight away and a knot twisted in his stomach as he tried to think of all the things that could be bothering his dad. "So… has Blaine heard from his Dad yet?"

"Nope."

"And is he okay with that?"

"We haven't really talked a lot about it. I think he just wants to get it off his mind. That's why I had a movie night tonight, so he could at least concentrate on something else."

"You're a really good friend, Kurt."

Kurt let out a heavy sigh, "Thanks, Dad."

"What's wrong?"

Kurt closed his eyes while he searched for the right words, "I think I like Blaine, Dad. As more than a friend. But I don't want to ruin our friendship because what we have is really special and I know that and I can't ruin it but then nights like tonight happen and I just think well maybe but I can't let myself go there I just can't." Kurt's words came out as one long string of noise that Burt had to pull apart and process in his mind.

"Hang on. Let's slow it down and talk about this. So, you like Blaine? As more than a friend?" Kurt hesitated before giving a sight nod. "But you aren't going to say anything because you don't want to ruin your friendship?" Another nod. "Then you lost me. Something about tonight?"

"Ya, well, tonight we were watching the movie and it just felt different. Like we were hanging out as more than friends. And then I grabbed his hand, like I have a million times, but I liked it, Dad. I didn't want it to end. And the next thing I knew I was leaning on his shoulder and we fell asleep and well. Is it weird to say it just felt… right?"

Burt smiled at Kurt before he scooted to lay down next to him on his bed. "It's not weird at all, bud. That's what it feels like when you are with someone you like. It's perfectly normal."

"Even if he is my best friend?"

"He's Blaine. You two have been acting like this since you were eight. You have to admit that you have never really had a normal friendship." Kurt had thought about it. That's what made his so confused about his feelings because how was he supposed to differentiate between the feelings of liking someone and his feelings for Blaine. Were they any different? "Have you ever stopped to think that maybe he has feelings for you, too?"

"There's no way."

"I wouldn't be so sure." Burt stood up with a wink and tucked Kurt into bed before leaving to go back to the living room.

Kurt wasn't sure to make of Burt. He had this way of always bringing stuff up and then leaving before he answers any of the questions. Kurt let out a huff of frustration before rolling over and grabing his phone to quickly text Blaine. **Thanks for coming over tonight. Sorry I ended up using you as a human pillow. Sweet dreams.** He watched anxiously waiting for the screen on the front of his phone to light up. He even ended up laying his phone over his closed eyes hoping the light would wake him up when Blaine responded. Ten minutes later the slipped out of his light sleep to see that Blaine had replied. **No need to apologize, that's what friends do. We use each other ;P I had a great time. Hopefully I will see you tomorrow :)**

Kurt rolled over and fell asleep with a smile on his face.

Blaine felt like he was pulling himself in two different directions. The first was a very clear path telling him that he was only 12 years old, he had _just _figured out who he was, his dad won't even stay in the same house as him, and, therefore, he cannot have a relationship right now; he isn't ready. But then Blaine remembers what Kurt's hand felt like in his watching the movie, or how natural it felt for them to fall asleep next to each other and he can't help but want that. With a groan, Blaine flipped over and buried his face in his pillow. Do people even date at this age? He didn't want to be one of those kids who dates in middle school, and then they regret it later on.

Blaine tossed and turned all night never truly reaching a solid sleep. By the time morning came around his body felt sore and his eyes burned. He walked into the kitchen where Tracy sat reading the newspaper and drinking her coffee.

"Hey, sweetie, how are you?" Blaine grunted in response. "Is this about Kurt?"

Blaine rolled his eyes before walking over to the cupboard to grab a bowl and some cereal, "Yes, and I don't want to talk about it."

"Why don't you call Coop? I'm sure he'd be more than willing to give some advice." Blaine blinked hard to himself wondering why he hadn't thought of that idea before. Of course Cooper would be willing to talk to him. He would know what to do.

Blaine bolted out of the kitchen and grabbed his phone off the charger in his room. His foot bounced up and down while he waited for an answer.

"Hey, Squirt, how's it going?"

"Don't call me that."

"Sorry. No can do. What's up? You never call this early."

Blaine started to pace back and forth in his room, "I need some advice. Some… relationship advice."

"It's Kurt, isn't it?"

"Have you been talking to mom?"

"No. I grew up with you, remember. I saw how you two were with each other. It was only a matter of time."

"Oh." Was he the only one who was too blind to see it? "Well, anyway here's the deal…" Once he started to explain the situation, Blaine spilled everything. He even told him about the things that Dave would say about Kurt and how angry it made it. How he thought it wasn't fair that Kurt was having an easier time with this than he was, and about how their dad had been gone and refused to talk to him anymore.

"Wow," Blaine heard him take a big breath through the receiver, "All that has been happening?"

"Ya, and I just don't know what to do anymore."

"Well, I think you're right about not wanting a relationship yet. You're young and it's too early to start complicating your life with all of that when there is already so much going on."

"So, I just need to ignore my feelings?"

"No. I didn't say that. If you ask me it sounds like Kurt has the same feelings you do, but you know two people who like each other can still hang out and stuff without being in a relationship, right?"

"But Kurt and I hang out all the time."

"And it's no different than what you've always done. But, baby brother, if you sit down with him and you tell him how you feel then when you hang out things will be different. In a good way."

"So… it will be like an established not relationship?"

"I guess if you want to think about it like that. It will help so you two don't get your actions confused with just being friends or actually having feelings for each other. But you two have a lot of stuff to work out at school with this Dave kid though. Have you told mom or Burt about him?"

"No. Kurt doesn't want anyone to know. I don't want to be the one to make him mad."

"You can't keep living like that, though. Things are just going to get worse."

"I'll take care of it, Coop."

"Okay. Whatever you say, but listen, I gotta go. Are you and Kurt hanging out today?"

"I think so. I'll text you or something."

"Sounds good. I'll be home next week for Thanksgiving. We can talk more about this then, okay? Love you. Bye."

"Sounds good. Love you, too."

Blaine waited to hear the click on the other end of the line before falling back onto the bed. He could do this. Today when he and Kurt hung out he would tell them and they would figure something out together.

Blaine was at the door before Kurt could even ring the doorbell.

"Wow. You look good. Is that a new outfit?" Kurt couldn't help but blush. He was glad his 45 minutes of picking out clothes didn't go to waste.

"New pants, I've had the shirt for a while."

Kurt said a quick hello to Tracy before the boys headed to Blaine's room. Kurt sat on the bed like he always did but Blaine stood awkwardly against the other wall.

"Are you okay?"

"Kurt, I think we gotta talk about something."


	16. Chapter 15

"Is something wrong?"

"No, no, no." Blaine began to twist his fingers together.

"You know you picked that habit up from me. You never used to do that when we were little."

Blaine felt a small smile grow on his lips. "Ya. I guess we both kind of picked up little things from each other." Kurt nodded with a smile on. "Here's the deal, what I'm about to say… I don't want it to ruin our friendship, alright?"

"Okay…" Kurt furrowed his eyebrows at Blaine.

"I feel… Well, I just can't…" Blaine closed his eyes trying to put his thoughts together, "Ever since we kissed I… I can't stop thinking about it." His words came out barely louder than a whisper and his eyes stayed glued to the ground.

"What was that?"

Blaine sighed, "Never mind."

"No," Kurt crossed the room to take Blaine's hand. He looked up and locked eyes with him, "Please tell me."

"I can't stop thinking about you. Ever since we kissed. I can't stop thinking about how good you always look, or how soft your hands are, or how my stomach flips every time you hold mine. I can't stop thinking about how you're the only person who has always been there for me, even when you weren't because just the thought of you was enough to help me. I can't stop thinking about everything about you."

Kurt could feel his eyes growing wider as each word spilled from Blaine's mouth. He dropped his hand and took a few panicked stops backward.

"Blaine, what are you saying."

"I like you, Kurt! As more than just my best friend." Blaine kept a careful eye on Kurt while he backed up and leaned his head against the wall. It was easily four full minutes before either one made any noise.

"I can't, Blaine."

"Can't what?

"I'm not ready for this right now." Kurt looked down to the ground and glued his eyes to his shoes. "I mean, I am still trying to figure out what to do with my life at school, I can't show up one day with a boyfriend. It would just be too hard and people would have to know about us and-"

"Kurt, I don't want to date you." Kurt whipped his head up to meet Blaine's.

"But you just said…"

"I said I have feelings for you. But you're right. We're not ready for a relationship or anything. Not only are we still trying to figure ourselves out but I have stuff with my family to deal with and we both are keeping this stuff quiet at school. I just couldn't not tell you. I tell you everything, and even if you don't feel the same way about me I had to be fair." Blaine could feel the slight sting of tears in his eyes when he realized that Kurt never said he felt the same way, but he found a way to hold them back.

"I never said I didn't feel that way, Blaine." Kurt walked back to the bed and sat down on the edge, "There is something between us; neither one of us can deny it. It took me until earlier to figure it all out, but I know exactly what feeling you are talking about. I feel it, too."

Blaine felt like a great weight had lifted off his shoulders as he walked over to sit a few inches from Kurt. "I got some pretty good advice from Coop this morning, wanna hear it"

"You talked to Coop about this?"

Blaine's cheeked turned bright red, "Ya, well, who else was I supposed to go to? Anyway, he said that, like, if we both like each other or whatever we can like, hang out and stuff like normal but just with the understanding that we like each other but not be dating. Does that even make sense?"

"Kind of, maybe. So would be still hold hands like we are best friends or, would that be banned now?"

"Wait, do you actually wanna try this?"

"What he suggested? I don't really see how we can't try it. We both like each other, and until we figure things out in our own lives then sure, let's try it."

Blaine could feel his heart beat speed up and he hoped Kurt wouldn't catch on to his excitement.

"Well, I like holding your hand. So maybe we can still do that."

"Okay." Kurt looked up shyly through his eyelashes with a small smile on his lips.

The silence between the boys wasn't awkward this time. They were both lost in their thoughts of each other. Burt called up to the boys that had a snack ready for them.

"If we don't go down he is going to get mad. Can we not tell him anything yet? I think I should do it on my own."

"Of course." Kurt stood up and started walking toward the door, "Kurt?"

He turned around to find Blaine still sitting on the bed.

"Ya?"

"Can… umm… can we maybe… kiss again? We don't have to if you don't want to and it won't be part of our like… whatever we are but I just think that maybe if we kiss without like, something bad happening then-" Blaine stopped when he felt Kurt's hand on his.

Without a hesitation Kurt leaned forward and pressed his lips to Blaine's. Time could have stopped and they never would have known. The world beyond the two of them seemed to melt away. The butterflies swarmed around in their stomachs and for those short few moments their hearts beat together. Kurt pulled away but kept his hand in Blaine's. Both of them opened their eyes slowly to reveal the smiles on each other's face.

"Ya. I think this is going to be the best idea Cooper has come up with yet."

Together they walked down to the kitchen to meet Burt, hoping their words would make it passed the butterflies that swarmed around in their stomachs.

After they finished their math homework together, Kurt and Blaine walked to the neighborhood park together. It was the same park they used to play in together as kids. They remembered all the times they would play house in the sandbox or tag on the play equipment, but most they remembered how back when they were young they were able to hold hands and hug each other all they wanted in public, but now that they were older things have changed. The world has become more judgmental. If they were to hold hands while they walked to the park now someone who was driving by would surely call them dirty names. Or someone at school might see them and the bullying that Kurt took and Blaine had to deal with would certainly become so much worse. So for now they walked together, but not together. Blaine would walk a few steps ahead of Kurt and each boy would keep their heads down while barely speaking above a whisper to each other.

Most of the bullies from school lived in the houses they had to walk by to get to the park. Once they passed the street they would be able to walk and talk normally, but they wanted to be safe. Right at the end of the block Kurt caught back up to Blaine and they started laughing and goofing off together again.

"Out on a date are we? This isn't what we meant, Anderson, when we told you to start going out."

Blaine could feel Kurt stiffen a few steps behind him. "Drop it, Azimio. Kurt and I are just hanging out. We aren't even bothering you."

"You two sure seem to hang out a lot. Did you ever stop to think that maybe you could have a girlfriend by now if you didn't hang around that all the time." Azimio motioned towards where Kurt was standing.

"Why are you and Karofsky so obsessed with me getting a girlfriend anyway?"

"Well then, I would say that you're just as gay as your friend over here because we both know that the Sugar girl was holding your hand and snuggling up to you after practice the other day and you turned her down."

"You know what? I'm not even going to argue this with you." Blaine started walking down the street again with Kurt following closely behind.

"Fine. But you two better find another way back because one my parents find out that there is a gay guy walking down _our _street… well let's just say things are going to get pretty ugly."

Kurt and Blaine turned back to go to Kurt's house to make cookies, their mood to run around and play was completely gone.

"How come they always just assume I'm gay?" Blaine could barely hear Kurt's voice above the cars driving by.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I haven't told anyone at school. And this whole thing started long before I even figured out if I was gay for sure or not. So how do they know?"

"Because you're different." Kurt looked up at Blaine's words to find that he was looking out at the sidewalk ahead. There was no tone of accusation in his voice, it was a simple observation.

"Well, I don't want to be different. Why can't I be normal for once? Why can't I be the one who gets to walk down the hall without having a fear of what nasty things I am going to hear people whisper about me that day, or be afraid of who is going to be around the corner just waiting to shove me. Why can't I just be another kid?"

"I wouldn't want you to be." Blaine looked over to Kurt lightly squeezed his arm before withdrawing his hand back. "You wouldn't be the same if you were like that, Kurt. You wouldn't be the person who has been my best friend for five years. You wouldn't be the person who throws me random movie nights because my dad sucks." Blaine lowered his voice to a whisper, "You would be the same person I just kissed back in your bedroom."

Kurt felt all the blood rush to his cheeks and even his ears tinted to a light pink. It was going to take some getting used to, having to think of him and Blaine as anything but the Kurt and Blaine they have always been.

Back in the kitchen Kurt turned on his iPod and the boys set out on their adventure of cookie baking. They danced around and sang while pulling the flour and eggs out onto the counter. Kurt had made cookies so many times that he didn't need a recipe anymore, and Blaine was happy to help. Blaine took some flour and made war paint stripes under his eyes; Kurt ran away when Blaine tried to put some on him. It turned into a fun game of chase around the center counter until Blaine finally went full speed ahead and crashed into Kurt bringing them both to the ground.

Sometime within their fit of giggles Blaine managed to get flour all over Kurt's face making them laugh harder.

With sore stomachs and messy faces they managed to finish the cookies and get them in the oven. Blaine grabbed a handful of the left over chocolate chips and sat down with Kurt to wait for the timer.

"Are you going to tell your dad tonight?"

"Umm… I think so. I'm a little nervous about what he might say, though."

"Why?"

"I just don't want him to think things are going to get weird or that like… I don't know. I'm just nervous."

"Well my mom was completely ecstatic when I told her about everything."

"Really?"

"Ya! Apparently we used to be all our moms could talk about." Blaine told Kurt what his mom had told him and how together their moms practically planned their entire future.

Kurt felt taken aback. He had never heard that story before. "So my mom would want this?"

"That's what my mom said. She said that they had bets on when we would figure all of this out and if she were…. Um here she would have won."

Kurt could feel the tears swell up in his eyes and Blaine reached over to take his hand.

"Are you okay?"

"Ya, ya. That just, uh, makes me feel a lot better."

Blaine smiled over at Kurt and his breath caught in his throat when he realized how close their faces were. They sat frozen there for a few seconds, and right as Blaine built up the courage to lean forward the timer on the oven went off.

Kurt jumped back and out of his seat running over to the over to put the cookies on the top shelf and reset the timer. "Maybe we better clean up."

Once the kitchen was clean and the cookies were all in the cookie jar they sat around watching mindless TV until Tracy came to pick Blaine up. Their hands kept brushing against each other's until finally Blaine intertwined their fingers. They would steal glances toward the other never really letting the smile from their faces. Eventually Burt came in to tell them that Tracy was there.

"I'll see you on Monday, okay?"

"Okay." Kurt played with his bottom lip with his teeth being extra aware of Burt standing there. He pulled Blaine into a small hug before sliding his hand down his arm and giving his hand a light squeeze before he turned and walked out to his van.

That night when Burt was tucking Kurt into bed he told him about Blaine.

"No, Dad. We aren't dating. We're just like, I don't really know what to call it, but we both like each other and agreed that it just isn't a good time for us to start dating so we are like, friends who like each other."

"Don't you think that could turn into a messy situation, buddy?"

"It's Blaine, Dad. We are always together anyway."

"Ya, but what if someone else comes along that one of you starts to like. You aren't together so you can't break up and then things are just going to get messy and they aren't going to end pretty."

"Whatever, you don't get it. We're Kurt and Blaine. Nobody is coming between us."

"Okay. I trust you, I just want you to know that this little arrangement you have can't last forever. Eventually you both are going to have to decide one way or another; be together or not."

"We will. Just not yet."

"Okay, buddy. I'm happy for you." Burt leaned down to kiss Kurt's forehead.

"Thanks, Dad. Me too." With a smile on his face Kurt rolled over and pulled the covers up to his chin letting the dreams take over his mind. Burt sighed and closed the door behind him going to grab a beer and let his brain take a handle on the fact that the dating stage has now begun in his son's life.

Thanksgiving came and went with Blaine lying to Cooper about the bullying stopping at school. Tom didn't come home for the holidays, but did call and talked to Tracy and Cooper right before dinner. The holidays had become a hard time for both Blaine and Kurt, and it was even harder that they barely got to see each other because of family and other commitments. The next week at school went by just like any other, besides the few stolen glances between Kurt and Blaine during their classes or lunch. There was one rather bad encounter with Azimio and Karofsky after practice on Wednesday that involved yelling derogatory terms up the bleachers at Kurt and Blaine almost starting a fight, but they got through it together. They hung out almost every day after school and quickly became more and more comfortable with the status of their not quite relationship, although they hadn't kissed again. On Friday night Burt and Kurt joined Tracy and Blaine for a Friday night dinner like they did when they were young.

Afterward, while Burt and Tracy stayed in the kitchen to clean up and talk Kurt and Blaine went in and watched a movie together. They ended up with Kurt leaning against Blaine's side with their fingers intertwined. They didn't even bother to put some space between them with Tracy and Burt came in to join them.

Since this new arrangement the boys weren't allowed to share a bed anymore, but Blaine still spent the night on the pull out couch. On Saturday morning Kurt came downstairs and joined Blaine in watching some Saturday morning cartoons. He wasn't sure what his dad had been so worried about. Everything with Blaine was going fine, in fact, it was going great.


	17. Chapter 16

**This is the next big time jump. Welcome to sophomore year at McKinley High School!**

Kurt couldn't handle it anymore. He felt like he was in some movie where he would wake up every day and have to relive the same thing. He had felt like this for close to three years. He went to school and got pushed around by Karofsky and a lot of the football team, then he went home and had his feeling pushed around and smothered by Blaine. He was hoping that once Blaine's mom had officially signed the divorce papers in eighth grade things would be different, or that when they both started high school together they would finally figure things out between them. Or even once Burt started dating Finn's mom and Finn found out Blaine was gay he would be okay with everyone else finding out, too, but here they were, mid sophomore year, and they were just as not together but together as when they first shared their feelings.

Things between them had started off great. Kurt had felt so relieved to know that the feelings between them were mutual. They started having Friday night dinners with Blaine and Tracy every week. They would have movie nights and hold hands and only every once in awhile would they rest their heads on each other, and for only being in middle school, that was fine with Kurt, but they aren't in middle school anymore, and Kurt has had enough.

Kurt and Blaine were in Kurt's room for their typical Friday night dinners with Tracy and Burt were down in the kitchen cooking.

"Blaine, can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"It's important."

Blaine looked up from the game he was playing on his phone. Off of the look on Kurt's face he put the phone down and turned to face him sitting cross legged on the bed. "What's going on?"

"Where do we stand? You and I, I mean."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, what are we? When someone asks me about you how am I supposed to introduce you?"

"Did someone at school ask about us?" Blaine was up on his feet pacing across the room, "Kurt, how did they find out? This is terrible. This is honestly the worst thing that could ever happen." Behind him, Kurt could feel himself breaking with each word.

"What do you mean? We can't hide forever, Blaine. I don't even have to tell anyone at school I'm gay, they all already know."

"You told them?"

"Look at me!" Blaine froze and slowly turned. Kurt could feel the tears begin to sting his eyes in frustration. "Do you think I can even _try _to hide who I am anymore? I'm gay, Blaine. I'm gay and I'm proud! Everybody at school knows… they have since before I did, I just had to accept it."

"I can't just do that, Kurt. I'm not you. I can't have that associated with me."

"What's so bad about it?" Kurt was crying now, his voice had become raspy from trying to work past the lump in his throat. "What is so bad about being yourself?"

"I can't do that! Why can't you just understand that? I have so much more to lose, Kurt. I've already lost my dad what else am I supposed to put on the line? I have so much more to lose?"

"Why? Because I already get my face shoved into the lockers every day? Or because I've already been called every name in the book? Newsflash, Blaine, life isn't a cake walk! Life is hard! Life sucks! But you can't let it control you! You can't be afraid of who you are!"

"Well I am, okay?" Blaine let out a heavy sigh before sitting down with his head in his hands. "I'm on the football team, Kurt. Finn is the only one who knows, and that's only because your parents are dating. I have to deal with Karofsky and Azimio and all those other guys every day. I can't handle them getting on my case anymore than they already are."

"So you're just going to let them keep hurt me during school, and come hold my hand after?" Kurt sat down next to Blaine leaving a little more space than usual. "I can't do this in between thing anymore. It worked out when we were twelve, but I'm out and I'm proud and I can't sit back and wait anymore. So either we make this official or we end it." Kurt never looked up from his lap, but he could feel Blaine's eyes grow to face him.

"What?"

"I don't want to do this, Blaine, I really don't, but we haven't even kissed. How can you call us something when nothing is happening? I want to be yours. I want to call you my boyfriend, I want the world to know that you are the person I want, I want to be able to walk down the hallway and hold your hand. I just want you."

The silence in the room grew with every minute that Blaine didn't say anything.

"I can't, Kurt. I just can't." Blaine was up and running out of the room before Kurt could even process his words. He heard the slight mumble of words from the kitchen before the front door slammed.

Kurt lay down on his bed and pulled the covers over his head, letting himself be consumed by darkness. After a few minutes, he heard his dad shuffle into his room and sit down in his chair at his desk.

"Are you really going to make me ask? Or are you going to come out from under there and tell me what just happened?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Well, I'll be downstairs whenever you're ready."

Kurt would be forever thankful for his dad and knowing boundaries. Kurt never came out from under the covers, though. He laid there trying to fight off his thoughts. He knew that he couldn't sit around and wait for Blaine for forever, but was giving him an ultimatum the right choice? In any other situation Kurt would go to Mercedes for help, but Blaine had insisted that the two of them not tell _anyone_ at school. Even their friends in glee. So he was stuck lying in bed being lost in his head trying to, once again, figure the world out for himself. At some point between the tears and the silent screams Kurt felt himself drift into a light sleep.

It wasn't a good sleep, though. Kurt found himself waking up at every crack the house would make, or every time he would roll onto his other side. He was awoken by dreams of Karofsky, but when he woke up he didn't feel much better. Whether he was in the land of dreams or his reality Kurt was alone. He had no one to turn to for help, and no one to accept him for who he was.

The next morning, Kurt woke up with a strange stiffness throughout his muscles and dried tears on his cheeks. He started a hot shower and the let the water pour down over his face and down onto his body until it rolled into the drain. He spent a majority of the time watching the water start to spiral around the drain until it was going so fast that he got dizzy just trying to follow it. Eventually he stepped out and used his towel to dry off before getting dressed. Kurt and Blaine had had plans today to go to the mall, but all Kurt wanted to do now was grab his iPod and let his music take him away.

Burt watched from around the corner in the kitchen. He could see the dark circles under his son's eyes and the way his muscles weren't forming the ever present grin on his face.

"He hasn't said a word to me. Have you gotten anything out of Blaine?"

"No, he is still in bed." Burt could hear Tracy adjust the phone on her shoulder through the receiver, "He ran home last night, and by the time I got there with the van he had already locked himself in his room. I could hear him crying, though. Whatever it was they were yelling about last night had to have been pretty bad."

"Well what are we supposed to do? I can't ask Kurt to talk to me again, or he is never going to."

"I think Blaine has given up on trying to even get advice from me."

"Well, Carole is coming over later today, so I am hoping that either he will snap out of it by then or she can talk to him."

"That might actually work. Maybe he needs someone who isn't so emotionally involved in all of this to talk to."

"I will call you if I figure anything out."

"Me, too. Let me know how it goes with Carole. Talk to you later. Bye."

"Bye."

As soon as Burt hung up with Tracy he immediately dialed Carole's number. "Hey, can you come over sooner than we planned? I need your help."

"With what?" Burt took the time to give a brief overview of everything that happened with Kurt and Blaine. He told her what they could make out from the yelling that happened and how Kurt wasn't talking now. "Sure. I can be over in an hour, although, Finn is going to have to come with me."

"That's fine. I can take him out for ice cream or something."

"Okay, sounds good. I'll see you soon."

"Can't wait." No matter how much Burt tried to deny it he absolutely loved the feeling he got even just by talking to Carole on the phone again. He was glad that she and Kurt got along and they could even has some time to talk about boys together. He knew that Carole could never replace what Kurt could have had with Liz, but having a mom around sure seemed helpful when it came to things Burt knew nothing about.

Within the hour Carole and Finn were coming in the front door armed with all the ingredients to make chocolate chip cookies. Burt grabbed Finn and the two of them went off to the shop, where Burt was going to teach Finn how run the place while Carole was going to stay back on her mission with Kurt.

"I promised your dad and Finn some cookies when they got back, do you wanna come help?"

"I know why you're here, Carole."

"Your dad has never really been good at this type of thing, huh?"

"Let's just say last week he brought me home some pamphlets because he didn't want to give me the sex talk."

Carole let out a giggle while she sat down on the opposite side of the couch from Kurt, "Well, I'm not going to pressure you into talking to me, but I will say that having some outside perspective on whatever happened last night may help. But for now let's just go make some cookies." Carole reached over and turned off Kurt's iPod before taking his hand and helping him off the couch.

They worked together silently until the cookies were in the oven and there was nothing to do but wait for them to cook in the oven.

"Is it wrong of me to want more from Blaine?"

"What do you mean by _more_?" Maybe it was a good thing that Burt wasn't the one having this conversation with Kurt.

"Well, I told you about how we both like each other so we made that weird we're not together but we like each other and it was kind of confusing and all of that. But that was like, three years ago and nothing has changed. And I'm out at school now, but he is too afraid to come out because of the football team and Karofsky and everything and-"

"Wait, what is up with Karofsky?"

Kurt immediately caught his slip up. He tried to keep his face calm while he thought of a cover up, "Oh, he has just been avoiding me since I came out, and Blaine doesn't want that with the football team and everything. So anyway last night when he was over I asked him what we were and he freaked out at me and I told him we had to decide if we were going to be together or not officially. And he said he couldn't and ran out." Kurt felt the tear slip from his eye as he turned away from Carole. She reached up and pulled him into a gentle hug.

"You can't force Blaine out, Kurt. No matter how much you want to be with him, he needs to be who he is on his own time. But that doesn't mean that you can't defend your own heart. I know it doesn't feel like it, but you can't have your heart played with like that. There comes a point when you need to be you."

"I guess I am trying to force him out, huh? But, I just care about him so much. I can't imagine not having him here like that. I honestly didn't' think he would run out like that. I just want him to be okay with who he is…."

"You know?" Carole pulled Kurt over so he was sitting next to her at the table, "Your dad talks to me about Blaine like he was his own son. I know that I don't know every detail about his situation, but I know a lot and you just have to give him time. If I know anything about Blaine he can't not have you with him either, but he isn't as strong as you, Kurt. You're tough because you've had to be. You went through so much when you lost your mom, and Blaine is just now having to experience these kinds of feelings. I'm not saying he has it harder, it's just a lot more recent for him. If anything, right now he just needs to know that you're still his friend. Be there for him, give him time, and it will all work itself out. I promise."

"But what if I'm wrong. What if it works out and we get together and things go horribly wrong with the football team, or his dad comes back and things go downhill. I don't want to be the cause of all of that."

"You won't be, sweetie. _When_ you two get together, if any of that happens, you will be the solid rock that he would need. Understand this, you are the only person who has been a constant in his life. You will always be the person that he goes to when he is in trouble. It's always going to be you, Kurt. You just have to be there."

"So do you think I should call him?"

"No. Let him be. I'm sure his mom is trying to talk to him right now, anyway. Let him come to you, okay? For now all we can do is finish these cookies and go about your life. You'll see him Monday at school."

And just like that, the timer on the oven was going off. This time, Kurt popped his iPod on the speakers and went to the special playlist he made for afternoons with Carole. Together they finished up the cookies and made dinner for everybody. Kurt put a smile on his face, but really, he couldn't keep his mind from worrying about Blaine.

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Blaine, honey, you're going to have to come out of your room at some point."

"No."

Tracy sighed and got up from the floor in the hallway outside Blaine's room. Whatever it was that happened between the boys Tracy wasn't going to get to the bottom of it this way. She only had one last trick up her sleeve before she called Burt back to ask for backup.

She walked downstairs and grabbed her purse before going back up to his room and creaking the door open. "Come on, sweetie. I've got to go somewhere and I'm not leaving you home."

"I've stayed home by myself before."

"Ya, but I'm not going to allow it this time. Up, up."

Tracy drove them just a few minutes down the road the coffee shop that changed their lives so many years ago. She ordered Blaine a strawberry smoothie with extra whipped cream under Kurt's name, and walked back over the table with their drinks.

"Mom, I'm not seven anymore."

"No, you're not. But this place means more to you than even I will ever understand. And whatever it is that went down last night is not worth you two locking yourselves away in your rooms for. So spill."

Blaine hung his head and accepted his mother's victory. "He gave me an ultimatum. He told me that either I come out and we make things between us official or whatever it is that is between us needs to end."

"And I'm guessing you chose the latter?"

"Well… ya."

"Why don't you want to come out at school, sweetie?"

"Well, I know the kids on the football team would have a problem with it. They always say stuff."

"And so you would lose… their respect?"

"Ya…"

"And if you don't come out you lose Kurt?"

"Ya…"

"The decision seems easy to me, but you have to do what you gotta do."

"But I can't lose more than I've already lost, Mom."

Tracy took a moment to look at her son, to really look at him. She could still see the sweet little Blaine that wanted a cookie and kiss when he fell off his bike, or would make her watch the Elmo movie over and over again, but she could also see the man her son was turning into, the one he was afraid to become.

"You already have the most important person in your life, Blaine. If you lose Kurt you will lose everything. Compared to that, you've lost nothing."

Suddenly everything changed in Blaine's eyes. It was like the flood gate of common sense opened up and all he could think about was Kurt. Kurt, the one person who had always been there. Kurt, the one person who helped him understand who was and accept that it was okay. Kurt, the one who threw his heart out on the line and Blaine had been too blind to accept.

"Mom, you gotta take me to Kurt's. Right now."

"No." Tracy grabbed her drink and stood up waiting for Blaine to follow her, "You need to give him time, too, okay? You two can work everything out on Monday at school, or after. But I think it would be good for you two to spend today and tomorrow apart. Let you both cool off and figure things out without the other."

"But Mom-"

"Trust me, Blaine. Just wait until Monday."

Blaine was helpless against his mother's words. So he frumped into the front seat of the car and spent the rest of the weekend silently storming around the house doing homework. Monday could not come soon enough.

Blaine planned on talking to Kurt at lunch, and, therefore, decided that he was just going to avoid him before school started so he could get it all out the first time he saw him. But when Kurt still hadn't shown up five minutes into lunch Blaine decided to go looking for him.

After searching the choir room, the auditorium, and by Kurt's locker Blaine was going to go to the locker room to see if he was with Finn. Down the hallway before he even got there, Blaine heard someone yelling. He quickened his steps until he rounded the corner and opened the door.

Blaine was met by Karofsky's back and Kurt's arms flailing and trying to push Karofsky away. It took him a moment to realize that he was kissing Kurt.

"Hey!" David suddenly turned around and Blaine could see fear flash across his eyes before anger took over. Behind him Kurt had tears streaming down his face. He brought his hand up to cover his mouth like he was going to be sick. Blaine ran over to his side never taking his eyes off of David.

"How nice of you to join us, Anderson." Before either Kurt or Blaine could react, Karofsky's fist was hitting Blaine's eye knocking him backward against the locker. He hit his head against one of the combination locks and fell to the floor unconscious.


	18. Chapter 17

"Blaine!" Kurt tried to turn to tend to Blaine but Karofsky's arm caught him. From the ground, Blaine's eyes began to flutter open again. Kurt chanced a look down to Blaine as he blinked his eyes and began to slowly sit up again.

Kurt began to open his mouth when Karofsky's hand flew to cover it. "Shut it, ladyboy." He shoved Kurt back until his back hit the lockers trapping him under David's firm grip. He slowly made his way forward so their faces were just inches apart, then, in one quick motion, he trapped Kurt's lips with his own.

Kurt's world began to work in slow motion. Karofsky's weight against his ribs made his lungs slowly stop working, his hand around Kurt's neck got tighter and tighter, and all the muscles in Kurt's body seemed to slowly go limp. He tried to shove David back but he was too weak and the lockers behind him combined with the grip on his neck disabled Kurt from being about to back away. Thinking as quickly as he could with his bully's slimy lips against his, Kurt decided the only way he was going to get out of this was to play along. Kurt opened his mouth, only for a second, to allow Karofsky's tongue in before he used all the force he had built up to bite down on it.

Immediately, David pulled back placing his hand over his mouth. "You little shit!" He looked down at his hand and saw blood dripping down his palm.

"Shut it, Karofsky. I've had enough of you." From the floor Blaine began to regain his strength, "Don't you see that all the stupid things that you do or say do nothing for you. You don't look cooler for beating Kurt up. He don't become stronger. You've been fucking using Kurt as a punching bag to hide from yourself. Well, I've had enough of you and your big mouth. I'm not going to keep this to myself anymore."

"If you tell anyone, Anderson, I'll… I'll come after you and your boy here. And trust me, next time I won't be so nice. I've always wondered what your boy would look like handcuffed to my bed. Maybe some hand shaped bruises all over his skin would do him some good."

The instant adrenaline rush helped Blaine stand to his feet in one swift motion. He pulled his fist back and aimed it straight for David's jaw, but he was still too slow and Karofsky beat him to the punch. Literally. Within seconds Blaine is back on the floor and Karofsky is out the door.

Kurt knelt down at Blaine's side and gently placed his hand on Blaine's cheek while he eyes filled with tears. "Stay here. I'll go get someone."

"No! You heard him, Kurt. Whatever he has planned for you I'm not going to let happen."

"It's just an empty threat."

"You don't know that! I'm not willing to risk it. Just, give me a few minutes to regroup and then we can go back to class."

"Blaine-"

"Kurt. Please." Even through his own tears, it only took Kurt one look into Blaine's big hazel eyes and he knew he had lost. So, instead, Kurt sat down and leaned against the lockers. He knew how gross the floor of the locker room had to be but it was honestly the furthest thing from his mind. He reached over and pulled Blaine next to him before he turned and buried his face into Blaine's chest and let his tears go. Blaine reached his arms around Kurt to pull him closer and let him cry. He didn't even realize that he was crying himself until he saw a tear fall from his cheek and land in Kurt's hair.

The moment seemed never ending to either of them. They both sat their replaying what had just happened over and over until Kurt suddenly got up and ran over to the toilet and threw up. Blaine cringed at the sound but walked over behind him and ran his hand up and down Kurt's back.

"I'm so sorry, Kurt. I'm sorry. I should have stopped him. I'm so sorry." Blaine couldn't stop whispering to Kurt who stayed bent over the toilet. At some point, he went to his football locker and grabbed his water bottle, filled it with water from the sink, and brought it over for Kurt to rinse his mouth out.

"I need to go home. I need to shower. I need to get out of these clothes, Blaine. Please, call my dad and have him come get us. Please."

"Kurt. I can't. I won't let Karofsky come after you again."

"We can't let him win!" Kurt suddenly went into hysterics thrashing around in the bathroom stall. He pounded his fist against the cool metal walls and scratched his finger nails into the paint. Blaine reacted quickly be swallowing him into a an embrace trapping his arms down by his sides. Kurt kicked around until the warmth from Blaine's arms kicked in and he went limp sitting there in the locker room. "Please. Call him. Please."

Blaine pulled his phone out of pocket and hit his speed-dial five and held the phone up to his ear.

"Hummel Tires and Lube. This is Burt."

"Burt…"

"Blaine?"

"Ya. Kurt… well we, I guess… we need you to come get us from school."

"What's going on?" Blaine could hear a frantic shuffle in the background as Burt grabbed some keys.

"I'll explain everything in the car. Just hurry please."

"I'm on my way, kid."

Blaine sunk down next to Kurt and pulled him into his lap. Together, they let themselves break into a million pieces hoping that, one day, the pieces would fit back together.

The car ride to the Hummel's house was silent aside from Kurt's sobs and Blaine's occasional "It's okay. You're safe now," from the backseat. Burt could tell that Blaine was trying to stay strong for Kurt, but the fear in eyes would be evident to anyone who had known him for so many years. He also knew that, in time, the boys would open up to him; he just had to be patient and make them feel safe right now.

As soon as they walked through the front door Kurt ran upstairs and locked himself in the bathroom. Blaine sat outside of the door until he heard the water for the shower start up and knew that right now he had to let him do his own thing.

Down in the kitchen Burt got out three cups and started heating up milk on the stove for hot cocoa. Blaine came down and sat at the kitchen table staring straight forward without blinking.

"That's quite the shiner you got yourself." Blaine reached up to his eye which, now that he thought about it, he supposed would be black by now. "Look, kiddo, I don't wanna pull your teeth here but you gotta tell me what's going on."

And so Blaine did.

He started back when Kurt and Blaine had first met when Karofsky would push Kurt down on the playground, through middle school when Karofsky slowly started to include Blaine in on his bullying, to the locker room earlier. About how he walked in on Kurt being cornered by Karofsky and how he tried to stop it but Karofsky was too strong. About how Karofsky forced a kiss on Kurt and then threatened to do worse if they told anyone. With every word that Blaine spilled he could hear all the opportunities he had to tell Burt or his mom or anyone about what was happening. He could hear the disappointment in himself. He could feel himself becoming a terrible friend.

"I'm so sorry, Burt. I should have told you sooner. It never should have come to this."

"You're right. You should have told me, but I'm not angry with you. You were scared, both of you were. But I sure as _hell _am not going to let this Karofsky kid get away with it any longer."

"But, Burt, Karofsky will follow through on his threat. If I know anything about him it's that he won't let anything threaten to destroy his reputation."

"That's before he had to deal with me. I'm going to Figgins tomorrow and I am getting that kid out of that school. You should both feel safe at school, Blaine. That's what it's supposed to be."

"But, I'm not so sure Kurt can go back there. Not after today."

"What about you?"

"Huh?"

"You're just as much a victim of today as Kurt is. How do you feel about going back?"

Blaine thought long and hard about it. He knew that he wouldn't be able to play football anymore. There was no way he would go back in that locker room. That gets him out of gym, too. But as Blaine pictured the hallways at McKinley all he could picture now was Karofsky around the corner waiting for him or Kurt. Waiting with the rest of the football team to attack. Blaine shivered away the thought and shook his head.

"I can't go back."

"Well then," Burt reached over and took Blaine's hand. The gesture was so simple, but it meant everything to Blaine, "We will find a place where you both feel safe."

No matter how hard Kurt scrubbed at his skin, he couldn't get the dirty feeling off. Soon, his skin was red with scratch marks up and down his arms and his chest. The water streamed out of the shower head and burned his skin on contact, but he didn't care. There were a few times he thought he was going to throw up, but when he realized he had ridden all of his stomach contents back in the locker room, so instead he concentrated on getting every trace of Karofsky off of him. After about twenty minutes, Kurt turned off the water and began to towel off. On any other day he would spend the next thirty minutes picking out an outfit and perfecting his hair but right now nothing sounded more inviting than being in Blaine's arms. So he threw on his only pair of sweatpants and an old t-shirt and went into the kitchen to find Blaine and his dad.

As soon as Kurt walked in Blaine was up on his feet and at his side with two long strides.

"How are you feeling?" Kurt simply shrugged in response before leaning over onto Blaine right there in front of Burt. Blaine wrapped his arms securely around Kurt's waits playing with the soft material of the shirt, and pressed his chin down onto Kurt's shoulder hoping that his actions would help Kurt to feel safe again. After only a few short minutes, Blaine pulled away and took Kurt by the hand and walked him into the living room where he sat down on the couch and pulled Kurt onto his lap.

Burt came in and left their two mugs of hot cocoa on the coffee table and sat down in his chair across the room. The three of them all sat in silence consumed by the thoughts bouncing around in their brains. Burt thought about the world and how it could be so cruel to the two innocent boys that sat as broken pieces on his couch. Burt knew he would fight for both of their rights to be happy. He didn't care about the consequences or the looks of disdain because those boys were in love, even if they didn't know it yet, and they deserved to have love and be loved by each other. Blaine thought about ways to protect Kurt and to be there for him no matter what. He thought about a future with him where nobody would tell them no, or ridicule them, or tell them that what they are doing is wrong. He just thought about a world where he could come home from work and have Kurt to look forward to. He looked forward to Kurt being there for him and being there for Kurt because that's what people who love each other do. And Kurt thought of nothing, because he had never felt so worthless in his entire life.

For once, nobody rushed around the kitchen or to the store for whatever meal they planning to have for dinner. Whatever was happening on the news or just down the street didn't even register. The mistakes they had made that came back to haunt them didn't dwell in their minds. This one moment, one kiss, one person had managed to take the lives of three free spirited loving men and turn their worlds upside down.

As soon as the bell rang Karofsky was out the front doors of the school. Coach was going to have to live with him missing practice today because there was no way he was going to stick around. Within minutes, Karofsky was through the front door of his empty house and up in his bedroom. He slammed his face down on his bed and began to pound his fists in his mattress. He has worked so hard at keeping his cover and within one moment of weakness it had all gone away. Now Kurt knew and Blaine knew and it wasn't long until the rest of the school knew, too. He had always hated himself for all the awful ideas of himself he reflected onto Kurt, but his fear of his father was much stronger than his need to be nice to people.

David crawled under the covers on his bed and pulled his comforter up over his head until he was completely consumed by the darkness. Then, and only then, did he allow himself to fall apart. He began to cry so hard that trying to breathe felt like the world's most difficult task. His throat was closing up from the lump that formed and there quickly became no dry spots on his comforter for him to dry his tears with anymore. Soon, he flipped over onto his stomach and screamed into his pillow. Then again. And again.

Eventually, his voice went hoarse and he had no fight left within him.

Once he heard the garage door open underneath his bedroom, he got up and quickly washed his face in the bathroom across the hall before going downstairs and putting on his usual 'good son' act for his parents. Maybe one day he would be able to be himself in his own home. Only maybe.

When Carole got the call from Burt she immediately made plans to drop Finn off at Puck's house before heading on over to the Hummel's house. When she arrived the first thing she noticed was the silence that rang throughout the house. It wasn't the kind of silence that just naturally happened, but instead it was the eerie silence that made you afraid of whatever was hiding behind every corner. Tracy and Burt were in the kitchen murmuring to each other and Kurt and Blaine were nowhere in sight.

Before she even sat down with them, Carole made a small pitcher of lemonade for the adults to sip on. Together, they decided that there was no way they were going to keep the boys at McKinley; whether David was expelled or not, they would never send their sons back to a place that made them feel unsafe.

"You know… there is this all boys private school over in Westerville I hear about sometimes at work." Both Burt and Tracy perked up at Carole giving her the okay to continue. "Well, at the hospital we sometimes get these boys coming in for various reasons and their schools aren't safe for them anymore, so they have to find a new place to go. It's expensive, though. Only the boys with rich parents ever actually send them there, but apparently it has this zero bullying policy that make it like a safe haven for anyone who attends."

"Technically, McKinley has a zero bully policy." Burt wrinkled his nose at the idea and turned away as if he was going to forget it was even mentioned.

"But at this place it's enforced. All the time."

"What's it called?" Tracy pulled out a pen and paper from her purse. This school was at least worth some good internet searching, right?

"Dalton Academy."


	19. Chapter 18

"You mean to tell me that he can harass my kid, use hers as a punching bag, and you're not going to do anything about it?"

"Mr. Hummel," Principal Figgins adjusted himself in his seat to properly face everyone in his office. "There is no proof that it was David who did those things."

"And Blaine's black eye isn't enough proof for you?" From the couch Karofsky let out an audible sigh that was quickly silenced by a light hit on his leg from his dad.

"Anderson's a klutz. He trips all the time in practice."

"MY SON HAS NEVER-" Soon, everyone in the room was yelling at someone else. David and Tracy were yelling about Blaine. Mr. Karofsky was yelling at David to be quiet. Burt was yelling at Mr. Karofsky to teach his boy a lesson, and Mr. Figgins just sat back in his chair rubbing his hands down his face with a heavy sigh.

"Everyone! Be silent!" All at once the voices were caught by Figgin's command. "Mr. Hummel, Mrs. Anderson, I am sorry that I can't do anything more. But without any proof that David was the one who attacked your sons I cannot simply expel him, however, David, I cannot just ignore the allegations. You will have to serve one week suspension from McKinley. I will email all your teachers to give you the work you will miss. You will also have to meet with our counselor, Mrs. Pillsbury, once a week until we see an improvement in your attitude."

"What?"

"And I would suggest…" Figgins turned to face David directly, "You stay quiet and accept the punishment. Now, you and your father may leave." After they left Mr. Figgins fiddled around the items on his desk knowing that he wasn't finished with dealing with the angry parents that sat in front of him, "Is there anything else I can do for you?"

Back at the house Kurt and Blaine were lying in Kurt's bed not really watching whatever movie they had put in. During the night, Kurt had continuously woken up from nightmares until he finally went downstairs to wake Blaine up and join him on the couch. Together, they sat in silence curled up under the blankets together. Eventually, they both made their way up to Kurt's room early in the morning where Burt left them to go have a talk with Figgins.

Kurt was resting on Blaine's chest with Blaine's arms wrapped around him staring off out the window. Every once in a while he would remember how slimy and gross Karofsky's lips felt on his and he would shudder it away. Every time Blaine felt it, he would wrap his arms a little tighter around Kurt and pull him closer.

"How did you find me?"

"Huh?" Blaine quickly pulled himself back to the present.

"How did you find me in the locker room?"

Until now Blaine had completely forgotten about anything that happened prior to the attack. He had been going to find Kurt because he hadn't showed up to lunch that day. But he was nervous. Why was he nervous?

"Oh." Kurt could feel Blaine's hold on him loosen as he remembered, "I was coming to talk to you about our.. uh…our fight that we had."

Kurt had completely forgotten that they had been fighting, also. Something that had seemed so pivotal to him just three days ago now couldn't be further from his mind. Blaine was right there for him. He was there when Kurt was alone in the locker room; he was there in the bathroom when it was all over. He was there last night when the visions from his nightmares became too much; Blaine was always there for Kurt, and he began to finally realize that Blaine was always going to be there for him in the future. He didn't need to label whatever the two of them were because they were Kurt and Blaine and they were always going to be. "Why don't we just forget about it."

"No, no. I wanna talk about it, Kurt." Blaine sat up and turned so they were sitting face to face with each other.

"Fine," Kurt quickly cut Blaine off, "But I'm going to say what I have to say first. Here's the deal, I'm sorry. I was so wrong in everything that I said to you and everything that I tried to make you do. I can't force you out and that's exactly what I was trying to do. It was stupid and selfish and I won't ever say those stupid things ever again. I'm happy with the way we are and I am more than willing to wait for you to figure yourself out."

Blaine stayed staring towards the wall letting dead air hang between them; he wasn't expecting that at all. Kurt was giving him in out. He could make it through school without any harassment from the football team, he wouldn't have to worry about anything with his father, and he wouldn't have to lose Kurt. Sure, the never ending parade of comments about being in glee would come, but that wasn't different from any other day. Blaine thought about it for a long time until one single thought crossed his mind. How long was he going to let other people define him?

"I'm ready." Out of the corner of his eye Blaine saw Kurt snap his head to look at Blaine.

"No. I don't want you to do this just for me."

'It's not, Kurt. You were just here to give me the little push I needed. You made me realize that I am just living in my fears. I don't want to do that anymore. Give me a few days to tell my friends at school, but I will proudly walk down the hallway with your hand in mine."

"Really?"

"Kurt Hummel," Blaine reached over and took Kurt's hand in both of his, "Will you be my boyfriend?"

Before Blaine could make out what was happening Kurt had tackled him down into a hug. They were both sprawled out across the bed with Kurt half on top of Blaine. Soon enough Kurt was holding Blaine so tight that he couldn't breathe properly. He managed to pull himself loose, but not completely out of Kurt's grip when he turned and realized his face was centimeters from Kurt's.

Blaine leaned over and placed his lips on Kurt's. He could hear Kurt's sudden intake of breath and as he leaned into the kiss a little more. Neither one of them knew exactly what they were doing but before long, Blaine's instincts, and hormones, started to take over as he brushed his tongue along Kurt's lower lip. They parted slightly allowing Blaine's tongue to slip in as he rubbed his hand up Kurt's back until his fingers were tangled in Kurt's hair pulling him closer. He could feel Kurt's hands trail around hi sides where they landed on his hips.

Kurt lightly pulled at Blaine trying to bring them closer together as they tried to become familiar with each other in this new way. Blaine pulled away from Kurt's lips and began laying light kisses across his cheek until he reached his ear. "Is this okay?"

He felt Kurt tense for a second before he heard a shaky yes escape Kurt's lips. Blaine sat up and pulled himself back against the headboard pulling Kurt onto his lap. He leaned forward and began working his lips on Kurt's neck, leaving light kisses and every once in a while, when a boost of confidence came, he would lick or nip at the exposed skin below his ears. Kurt let out a soft moan at the sensation leaving Blaine frozen underneath him. He tried to ignore all the blood rushing to his lower abdomen as he slowly let his lips begin to work again.

From below Kurt's bedroom they heard the garage door begin to open, and both of them jumped back and scrambled away from each other. They looked at each other with wide eyes before bursting out into a fit of laughter.

"Well… that was… just," Kurt ran his fingers through his hair trying to fix the parts Blaine had ran his hands through before his dad came in the house. Blaine couldn't help but let out a low chuckle pulling Kurt in for one last chaste kiss before wrapping his arms around him and cuddling close like they had been watching the movie the entire time.

For that little bit Kurt and Blaine had forgotten about David Karofsky and all the bigotry at their school. They had forgotten about the threat on Kurt or the pain that would always haunt them. But as they settled back down and waited for their parents to come get them those feelings crept back inside their brains. Blaine started to feel his eye throb again, as Kurt's stomach coiled at the thought that Karofsky had tried to do what Blaine had just done to him. Not even the thoughts of each other could keep away the demons.

"That's it?" Blaine pounded his fists on the kitchen table while standing up to pace. Kurt sat silently with closed eyes as Tracy rubbed small circles on his back.

"That's what I said, kid. Figgins wouldn't do anything else for you." Carole had taken the later shift that day so she could be there when Burt came home from the meeting. She walked through the front door with a plate of cookies and a gallon of milk quietly trying not to interrupt. Burt had obviously called her on his way home with the news asking her to come over.

"Hi everyone. Sorry I'm late." She and Tracy hugged before going into the kitchen to get some milk for everyone.

"What now, Dad?" Kurt's voice was soft, almost inaudible over Blaine's angry huffing in the background.

"Carole heard of this great school where you two can go. I don't want you going back there with that kid hanging around."

"How is that school going to be any different?"

Carole and Tracy walked back to the table with full arms.

"Have you ever heard of Dalton Academy?" Both the boys shook their heads. Carole pulled some pamphlets out of her purse and put them in front of them. "It's an all boy school in Westerville. It's practically made for people like you. It's like a safe haven for a lot of boys."

"You're going to send us to a school full of gay kids?" Tracy glared at her son. "Sorry."

"No. It's actually a private school that a lot of kids go to if their parents can afford it, but they have a special scholarship type thing for those boys who need a place to go."

"And you just expect us to up and move away from our friends?"

"Blaine, we never said this would be easy." Tracy grabbed her son's hand from across the table, "But this is the only option we have right now. Neither one of you is safe as long as Karofsky is at McKinley and this is the only place we know you will be."

Blaine sat back and crossed his arms across his chest, obviously unsatisfied with his options. He looked over at Kurt expecting a similar reaction, but instead Kurt had a pamphlet open in his hands and he was reading about one of its special programs they had featured.

"When can we start?"

"We have a meeting set up with the headmaster tomorrow."

Blaine had texted Mike and Quinn to meet him after school on Thursday. It was the first day that he and Kurt decided to go back to school again, and he knew that he couldn't come out to everyone all at once, so he was going to tell his two closest friends first. He didn't tell either of them what he needed to talk about, though, so they both showed up together with puzzled looks.

"Blaine, I thought we decided we were going to start our group project next week."

"We are. I don't need to talk to you about APUSH right now. I have something else." Quinn immediately caught onto Blaine's serious tone and chanced a glance in Mike's direction. Ever since they started high school Quinn, Mike, and Blaine had almost all of their classes together. They were the only three athletes who also took any AP classes, which meant that their friendship formed almost immediately. At a school like McKinley it was hard to fit into more than one social group. The three of them had spent many afternoons at The Lima Bean working on projects and simply escaping the social ladders that were obstacles at their school. They had always shared everything with each other. In fact, the only thing that Quinn and Mike didn't know about Blaine was what he was about to tell them.

"Is everything okay?" Mike reached across the table and patted Blaine on the shoulder. Somehow the action reminded Blaine that they were in a public place, and he instantly began to regret their meeting place. He didn't want to risk anyone overhearing their conversation.

"There is something I need to tell you guys. I mean, you two are my best friends, and if I'm going to tell anybody, which I am, I want you two to know first." Blaine had begun to go into full on rambling to himself, "well not really first because of Kurt and-"

"Blaine. Sweetie. Relax. Breathe." Quinn reached across the table and took Blaine's hand. He looked up to see small encouraging smiles on both his friend's faces taking some of the weight off his chest.

"Okay. Do you remember when you asked about my dad and the whole situation with that and I kept putting it off?" They both let on a tiny nod and Mike gave Quinn a look that didn't go unnoticed. "And do you remember last weekend when I was all upset and everything?" They nodded. "And then this whole attacked by Karofsky thing?" At that both Quinn and Mike gave a confused look to each other before Blaine remembered that nobody else found out about the locker room. "I'll explain it in a second. But what I really want to tell you is that all of those things are connected by one small not so small piece of information." Blaine closed his eyes and took a deep breath, "I'm gay."

Mike and Quinn glanced in each other's direction making eye contact and both let huge smiles spread across their faces. "We know, man. We've known for a while."

"You what?"

"Oh please, do you really think your two best friends can't see the heart eyes you get every time you talk about Kurt." Blaine sat back in his chair for a moment to just stare at his friends and it felt like the world had fallen out from under him.

"So you guys are like… okay with it?"

"Why wouldn't we be? You've been my best friend since we joined middle school football together."

"Ya. And do you really think that either Mike or I would stop being your friend because of something like that? I hate to break it to you, Blaine, but you're stuck with us. Life long friends."

Mike reached across the table and patted Blaine on the shoulder again and the three of them sat back and began to enjoy their afternoon with each other. Blaine was now worry free and felt a whole lot better about coming out to the rest of his peers. Sure, there were going to be people that didn't agree with him, but as long as he had friends like the two sitting across from him he was good.

"But wait," Quinn set down her drink and leaned forward onto the table, "What happened with Karofsky? Does it have to do with why he hasn't been at school all week?"

"Oh ya." Blaine looked around to make sure nobody was listening before he told them about the attack in the locker rooms. Quinn was horrified to hear that it had been happening for so long with Kurt and she hadn't seen it but Mike wasn't going to have it.

"You can't just let that happen! Are you gonna tell Coach?"

"No. Our parents have already talked to Figgins but the most he can get is a week suspension. Which is why he hasn't been at school all week, but come Tuesday he will be back walking the halls."

"Well we gotta figure something out."

"Kurt and I already are."

Regionals were coming up soon so Mr. Shuester called an emergency Friday after school meeting for glee club. The football players got excused from their practice to attend. Kurt and Blaine decided that they were going to tell everyone about their transfer then. So far Mike, Quinn, and Mercedes had found out the day before, but the rest of them were in the dark. Kurt felt a little pang of guilt about not telling Finn before since their parents were dating and all, but when it boiled down to it this had nothing to do with him.

"Mr. Shue? Blaine and I have an announcement. If we may?"

"Of course." Shuester gave the floor to the boys sitting down next to Rachel looking just as confused as the rest of the club. In the back Quinn, Mercedes, and Mike sat together each giving a small nod of encouragement before Blaine started it.

"So, there are actually a few things that we need to lay out on the table. The first is well…" Blaine reached down and took Kurt's hand in his own giving him the butterflies that he still hadn't grown used to. He couldn't help but let a small smile spread across his lips. Kurt leaned over and planted a soft kiss to his cheek.

"We're together," Kurt finished with a smile just as big on his face, too. Everyone in the club laughed and gave an awkward clap full of 'I knew it's and 'told you's from different members and one very confused look from Finn.

"Wait, dude, you're gay?" Kurt rolled his eyes and looked knowingly towards Rachel who simply patted Finn on the knee.

"Yep."

"But you play football…"

"Yep." Finn's face looked like he was trying to figure out a hard math problem until finally he shrugged his shoulders and slouched back in his chair.

"That's cool. I'm happy for you two."

"Thanks, Finn. Now, for the second thing we need to tell you." They dropped each other's hands and the rest of the members immediately caught on to the change in pace. "We've been having some trouble at school with people, well more like a certain person, who doesn't exactly agree with us." Kurt waved his hand between him and Blaine to emphasize his point. He went on to explain in very light detail about how Karofsky had been harassing the two of them for years. Their reactions were very similar to Quinn's and Mike's the day before at the coffee shop. The boys wanted revenge while the girls all stated they were there if either of them needed to talk about it.

"But here's the deal." Blaine finally found his voice enough to speak up, "The school board isn't doing anything about it. On Tuesday Karofsky is going to come back to school like nothing ever happened and things are probably going to get much worse. Neither one of us feel safe here anymore." You could have heard a pin drop when Blaine stopped to take a deep breath. He looked down to his shoes unable to keep eye contact with any one of his friends. "Kurt and I won't be returning to McKinley next week. We found this school in Westerville: Dalton Academy. It's an all boy private school and they have an enforced zero tolerance bullying policy." Blaine finally looked up but could only look to the back row of his friends where he met Mike's eyes. "We've been doing a lot of research and we even went and visited them on Wednesday. It's not something either one of us want to do but that school is like a safe haven for people like us; people who aren't exactly accepted at their own schools."

"But we accept you." Tina could barely talk through her tears as she held Mike's hand. "We've always accepted you."

"We know. And we love you all for it. You have all been so great to us, but it's just not enough anymore." Blaine hadn't noticed that Kurt was crying, too until he heard his voice crack.

The next few minutes the choir room stayed as quiet as a tomb aside from a few of Tina's sobs or someone else's sniffle. Kurt and Blaine hugged each one of their friends and told them they would text them later, but for now they needed to get home and pack and get ready to move into their new school.

Sunday morning Blaine and Tracy showed up on the Hummel's doorstep bright and early with Blaine's bags packed and ready to go. The car ride to Dalton was stiff and nerve wracking. In the backseat Kurt and Blaine sat close to each other with their fingers intertwined letting each other be in their own thoughts.

After they arrived at Dalton and checked in with the headmaster before getting their room assignments and going out to the car to grab their things.

"Hi." The four of them turned around to find an upperclassmen dressed in the Dalton uniform standing there smiling at them. "My name is Wes. I'll be the RA for your guys' hall."

"Hi. I'm Kurt." He walked up and hesitantly shook Wes' hand with Blaine not far behind him.

"Blaine."

Everyone quickly introduced themselves and Wes helped them move all their stuff up to their rooms. It didn't take as long as they had all expected and everyone was moved in and comfortable by noon.

"I hate to run before giving you all the full tour but I have Warblers practice to get to. I know your roommates will be here in a few hours, they're in the Warblers with me. Kurt, your roommate's name is Trent, and Blaine you'll room with Jeff. You'll love them. How about I swing by with them after practice and we can all go get some dinner together?"

"That sounds great!"

"Ya. Thank you."

"Alright. I'll see you guys later. It was nice to meet you." Wes waved a quick goodbye to Burt and Tracy before leaving them alone.

"I'm going to double check everything in Blaine's room before we leave. Come on, honey." Tracy and Blaine went next door to his room leaving Burt and Kurt alone.

"Call me. All the time. No matter what. Okay?"

"Okay, Dad." Burt pulled Kurt into a tight bear hug holding his son as close as he could.

"I'm going to miss you, bud."

"I'll miss you, too, Dad."

"I love you." Before Kurt could see him crying, Burt gave him one last pat on the back and left down the hallway towards the car. Tracy wasn't far behind him. Blaine and Kurt waved their parents off before both flopping down on Kurt's bed.

"Well, we made it." Kurt turned on his side to face Blaine just inches apart from each other.

"We sure did." Blaine leaned over giving Kurt a quick kiss. Kurt scooted over to use Blaine's chest as a pillow. "How are you feeling?"

"Honestly? Relieved. I finally feel safe." Kurt absentmindedly began to play with the pattern on Blaine's shirt. "This is the safest I've ever felt."


	20. Chapter 19

**Chapter Notes:**

**Alright guys, go ahead and hate me. I am so sorry for how long this has taken but I had family in town for a week and then literally the day after they left I got my wisdom teeth taken out and have been in recovery mode. I don't think you guys want me writing while I'm on drugs so... ya.**

**Also, this is my first ever attempt at taking my babies further with each other, and so I will also apologize for that too. I am trying to expand my horizons in writing and I guess this is the first step. Gotta start somewhere, right?**

Trent awoke in the middle of the night to the sound of Kurt's muffled cries. He looked over to see his new roommate with his face buried in his pillow thrashing around under the covers. He quickly got up and cross the room in five easy steps. Trent knew from experience how delicately you had to wake someone from a nightmare, especially one like he knew Kurt was having. As gently as he could, he placed his hand on Kurt's shoulder and gently shook him.

"Kurt, wake up. You're safe here."

Kurt immediately jumped back from Trent's touch, and hit his back against the wall. "Don't touch me! Back-" Kurt slammed his jaw shut and blinked a few times as he pulled himself back into the present, "Oh, sorry, Trent. Did I wake you?"

"You're fine. Don't worry about it." He awkwardly hovered next to Kurt's bed while Kurt sat up and ran his hands over his face. He tried to hide the fact that he was crying by frantically wiping away his tears, but Trent had already seen. After a few minutes, Kurt got his bearings back and grabbed his phone announcing that that he was going to text Blaine despite it being four in the morning.

Trent went back over to his bed and crawled under the covers facing the wall. He heard Kurt's phone vibrate from behind him and knew that whatever was happening to Kurt, Blaine was there for him now, although, he hoped that one day soon Kurt would trust him enough to know that he could come to him if he needed to.

Trent didn't know much about why Kurt and Blaine had transferred, he only know that they were in the safe keepings scholarship the school provided; same as him. At dinner they had both seemed normal enough for him to know that whatever happened at their old school hadn't completely destroyed them.

He remembered how he acted when he first came to Dalton; feeling so scared and alone. He peeked around corners before turning down the hallway, and once classes were over he locked himself in his room for safety. He didn't say anything to anyone for weeks until he met Nick. He was the first true friend that Trent had ever had. It took months for Trent to open up about what had happened at his old school, but at least he had someone there for him. Even though they had each other, Trent promised himself that he was going to be there for them like Nick was for him.

He could tell that Kurt and Blaine were hesitant to show that they were together, though, which was a common thing with new comers to Dalton. Trent could also tell that Kurt had been the one more physically tormented from the little jumps and shakes he gave every time an unexpected noise came. Wes, Jeff, and Trent were able to find out that they used to be in their school's glee club, and after Wes found out that Kurt was a counter tenor they were anxiously invited to join the Warblers.

Trent lay in bed and replayed their first week at Dalton over and over trying to pick up any clues as to what happened to Kurt, but he came up with nothing. He heard Kurt sniffle behind him as he made a mental note to take just Kurt to dinner the following evening to try to get to know him a little better. Trent had never had a roommate before, or even a brother or sister, and he figured Kurt was the closest he was ever going to get to that. He had to do this right.

Blaine had been planning the perfect evening for three weeks, and tonight was the big night. He was afraid that their transfer was going to get in the way, but he had just had to change a few things to accommodate the new city. He looked over at his night stand where Kurt's present sat neatly wrapped with a large bow on top. He stood in front of the mirror with his towel hanging loosely around his waist while he finished fixing his hair. Just a little gel tonight, the way he knew Kurt liked it.

The flowers were due to arrive in fifteen minutes, which gave Blaine approximately fifteen minutes and two seconds to get dressed and ready for Kurt to show up at his door.

He walked over to the outfit he had laid out for himself: his somewhat skinny but not too skin tight skinny jeans, his blue and white checkered button up, with a red cardigan. Once he checked himself in the mirror, three times for good measure, he looked down at his watch to literally count down the seven seconds until he heard Kurt knock on his door.

"Yes?" Blaine cracked the door open so only half if face was showing. Kurt wore his famous 'I'm too happy for words' smile and shoved the door open to engulf Blaine in a hug.

"Thank you thank you thank you! They're beautiful, Blaine!"

"You're very welcome." Blaine couldn't hold back a tiny chuckle as he placed his hands on Kurt's hips and pulled him in for a short kiss. "Are you ready for tonight?"

"I told you that we don't have to go out or anything, Blaine. Really. We can just have night of enjoying each other company."

"But we do that every night. And it's your birthday. We're doing something fun."

Kurt knew he wasn't going to win any argument he tried to put up against Blaine. "Okay. In that case, I'm ready."

The first stop on their wonderful birthday celebration was dinner. Blaine had reserved a small table in the back of a French restaurant Kurt had wanted to go to since they found out they were transferring. The meal was complete with sparkling cider, and the best chocolate cake either had ever tasted.

"Okay, now you're just being cheesy, Blaine." He had been trying to feed Kurt a bite of cake since it had arrived. All it took was one puppy dog look from Blaine and Kurt finally accepted on the last bite.

"If you think this is cheesy you ain't seen nothing yet, sweetheart." He batted his eyelashes at Kurt, a smile playing on his lips. Once the check was taken care of, Blaine paid of course, he led Kurt down the street to a nearby park.

They both hopped on the swings together and enjoyed the smell of the night air for a little while.

"Are you happy here?" Kurt was quiet for a minute before he turned to look at Blaine.

"You mean at Dalton?" Blaine nodded. "Of course I'm happy. I mean, don't get me wrong, I miss my friends from home, but nothing beats the feeling of safety." Kurt wrapped his ankles around each other and kicked at the bark chips a little. "I think I lived in fear of Karofsky for so long that I forgot what it felt like to be… well… normal. Like, I was always waiting for something to happen, or someone to pop out from around a corner and come after me. I don't have to do that anymore."

"I'm sorry I didn't do more to protect you."

"Blaine." Kurt's voice cracked as a lump formed in his throat. "Don't ever say that. You were the light that got me from day to day. Really. You were the only thing I had going for me."

"And now?"

"Now I have a lot more going for me. And I have you to thank. Just think of it this way." Kurt reached over and took Blaine's hand. "Every time something happens in my life the first thing I think of is when I can tell you. It was like that when my mom died, and it was like that tonight when those flowers arrived at my door. A lot of things are going to happen in my life, but you are going to be my constant, the thing that keeps me grounded."

Blaine pulled Kurt's hand so his swing came sideways and he locked Kurt's lips against his own. "I'll be here for as long as you'll have me."

They walked around the park for a little while simply holding hands and enjoying each other's company. They talked about their upcoming Warbler events and the crazy things that happen during rehearsals that Rachel never would have let happen in New Directions. Blaine had grown rather close to Wes and he excitedly talked about their plans to have a Mario Kart tournament the next day.

"Do you wanna come, Kurt? It's going to be awesome?" Kurt couldn't help but smile at Blaine as he jumped a little on his toes talking about it.

"I would love to, but I already have plans with Trent tomorrow. A new store opened up at the mall and he and I were going to go check it out, and then we are going out to dinner. He has been asking for, like, a week now."

"Really?"

"Ya. He said something about never having a roommate. I'm actually pretty excited. I don't know about you and Jeff, but he and I haven't really gotten the chance to sit down and _really _talk about anything."

"Well then, I'm excited for you." Blaine leaned over and planted a kiss on Kurt's cheek. "Ready to go back to the dorms? I have one more surprise for you this evening."

"Lead the way."

"The Hunchback of Notre Dame?!" Kurt threw the box aside and slammed Blaine into a hug. "We haven't seen this is _years_, Blaine. Do you remember when we used to watch this when we were little?" Blaine's smile was so big his eyes almost disappeared. "This was the first time I heard you sing, too. God, I was so smitten over you back then."

"Were? As in past tense?"

Kurt smirked, "I still am. Just not in an eight year old way."

"Good. I'm smitten over you, too. And sometimes in the eight year old way." Kurt pulled back to look at Blaine. He planted a long, meaningful kiss on his lips, and just before Blaine got carried away he pulled back.

"Can we watch it right now?"

"We can do whatever you want."

Blaine quickly ran to his room to change into his pajamas as Kurt did the same in his. Trent had offered to trade rooms with Blaine for the night so that they could just fall asleep together. When Blaine got back Kurt was lying in bed waiting for him.

They crawled under the covers together and Blaine wrapped his arm around Kurt's waist as they watched the movie. Just like when they were little Blaine would sing along to all the songs, except now he sang them quietly into Kurt's ear. Every once in a while he would see goose bumps for on Kurt's neck, and he would smile to himself.

About halfway through the movie Blaine was finding it rather hard to concentrate. He kept looking over and catching glimpses of Kurt's silhouette and the way his lips pouted out at the sadder parts. Subconsciously, Blaine kept pulling Kurt closer and closer until he almost had him in a death grip. Once the movie was over, Kurt got up to use the restroom before they went to bed. When he came back to the room Blaine was standing right inside the door waiting for him.

Without warning Blaine crashed his lips into Kurt's and pushed him back against the wall. He quickly gained access to slide his tongue into Kurt's mouth exploring the familiar slope of his teeth while he ran his hand up his back under his shirt. He felt Kurt's finger tips slide down his side until they played with the skin that peaked out between his shirt and his jeans.

Blaine lifted off Kurt's shirt to reveal his white undershirt that he always wore underneath. He could feel Kurt hesitate, but go back in for another kiss. They had been together long enough to get passed the awkward first couple of weeks of being a couple, but they had never really moved passed their comfort zones before.

Kurt dug his fingertips a little harder into Blaine's hip bones as Blaine worked kisses along Kurt's jawline up to his ear, pausing right in the spot that he knew drove Kurt nuts. "Are you comfortable?" Kurt blushed at the way Blaine was always a gentleman, even when he had him pinned up against a wall. He gave a quiet 'mhm' before pulling Blaine even closer to him.

Blaine smiled and worked his lips down Kurt's jaw again to find his lips again. Kurt nibbled on Blaine's lower lip causing a moan to escape Blaine's throat. He felt Blaine grow hard through his pajama pants, blushing a little when he realized that he was hard himself.

Blaine pulled back a few inches and looked Kurt straight in the eyes. Without a word, Kurt pulled Blaine over to his bed and pulled him down next to him. Neither one of them had let themselves explore this side of each other, but when was going to feel more right than right now?

Kurt tugged at the hem of Blaine's shirt a little, and Blaine lifted his arms to let Kurt pull it over his head. He let his eyes wander down Blaine's bare chest and take it all in. He had seen Blaine without a shirt before, but not like this; something about laying on his bed with a half-naked Blaine made everything so much different. His fingers glided over the muscles on his chest before he placed them right above the waist of Blaine's pants again.

He brought his eyes up to meet Blaine's before he got the slightest nod of approval to slide his hand down to palm Blaine over his pants. Blaine threw his head back and let out another moan. Kurt looked up at him, he blushed as he watched and realized that he was the one making Blaine feel this good.

Kurt's pajama pants got uncomfortably tight when he felt Blaine's fingertip brush against his waist as he grabbed the bottom of his shirt and pulled it over his head. Blaine wrapped his arms around Kurt's waist and pulled him closer so their bare chests were touching.

He flipped Kurt on his back and leaned down and placed his lips against Kurt's as he worked his fingers around the elastic playing with the waist of Kurt's pants. He hesitated only for a second to give Kurt the chance to stop him before he pulled then down around his knees. His fingers played with the waistband on Kurt's underwear and pulled them down slowly to reveal all of Kurt.

Blaine's hand was around Kurt stroking him. Kurt bit his tongue at how painfully slow Blaine was going but this was their first time trying anything together and he was just as nervous as Blaine. He picked up speed reading off of the soft moan's the escaped Kurt's throat.

"You look so hot like this." Blaine couldn't even believe the words had come out of his mouth, but he was glad he did when Kurt threw his head back against the pillow. He could tell that he was getting close; Kurt's breaths had turned into gasps that were low and needy as he was coming apart.

Blaine caught Kurt's lips on his and with one nip at Kurt's bottom lip, Kurt was over the edge. He stroked him through it until Kurt came down from his high. He looked at Blaine through hazy eyes until he felt Blaine rub against his thigh, still hard.

He pulled Blaine down, crashing their lips together while flipping them over so Blaine was underneath him. He could feel a smile tug at his lips as he work his hands over Blaine's body slowly pulling over layers of clothes.

Soon both boys were naked with sweat glistening over their foreheads. Kurt stroked Blaine while sucking on his skin just where his shoulder and neck met. It wasn't long before Blaine was coming on Kurt's hand mumbling his name into his hair.

Kurt pulled back to look at Blaine lying so vulnerably underneath him.

"You're beautiful." Blaine whispered into Kurt's ear before getting up and grabbing a wet wash cloth to clean up.

They changed into their pajama pants and lay back down on the bed together. Kurt pillowed his head on Blaine's chest and mindlessly traced his finger over Blaine's stomach. He didn't even try to hold back the smile that played on his lips.

"Happy birthday, Kurt." He felt Blaine press his lips against his forehead before he let sleep take over his body.


End file.
